Steve Kerr needs to sell ownership of Suns

Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports
Want to buy a piece of the Phoenix Suns? Give Steve Kerr a ring.

Kerr, who is making a decision about becoming the head coach of the New York Knicks or Golden State Warriors, will need to sell his ownership stake in the Phoenix Suns before he takes an NBA head coaching job. Suns owner Robert Sarver spoke to the New York Post to confirm that Kerr still owns less a small piece of the franchise.

Kerr, who the Post believes owns less than 1 percent of the team, went in on the Suns when Sarver bought the franchise in 2004, and he used his relationships to help the team’s owner work with then-commissioner David Stern and the league in buying the team.

As of Thursday, Kerr seemingly was leaning toward leading the Knicks but was also weighing his option to join the Warriors — he knows Golden State owner Joe Lacob well and also worked with president Rick Welts when Welts ran the business side of the Suns.

Whatever the case may be, Sarver put in another good word about his former employee, comparing him to current Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek as a strong communicator and backing up what Kerr’s former college coach Lute Olson told the Post earlier.

"“I think his biggest strength is he’s a really good communicator — both written and oral — and he gets himself very well prepared for what he’s doing,’’ Sarver said of Kerr. “Communication and preparation are two big traits in coaching.“I can’t overstress the importance of communication and trust in any relationship. I always found Steve very trustworthy, who can do a great job communicating to you any situation. I think he’ll be able to forge that kind of relationship with his players.’"