Ian Begley, ESPN Staff Writer 10y

Can Kerr handle the coaching grind?

Steve Kerr has never been a head coach before, so the New York Knicks would be taking a bit of a risk if they hired him to replace Mike Woodson.

One of Kerr’s ex-teammates wonders if Kerr will be up for the grind of coaching in the NBA.

"I know Steve Kerr well and his basketball IQ is really high. He knows everything about basketball. I am just concerned about his willingness to be a coach, travel, spend that time in the hotels, the locker rooms, the games. I don't know if he's ready to do that,” ex-Bulls forward Toni Kukoc said on SiriusXM NBA Radio. “If he's ready to do that I don't see any problem with Steve being a good basketball coach."

The Knicks haven’t made a decision on Woodson’s future yet. But if and when they let Woodson go, Kerr is believed to be the favorite to take over.

Kukoc, who won three titles with the Bulls, believes that Jackson will have success as an executive.

"I think that was his plan, he always wanted to get the role of a president. I think he had enough of being just a -- not 'just' a basketball coach -- but he had enough of being a coach. I think he's going to do a great job,” Kukoc said. “Obviously, his basketball knowledge is great. He has the idea how to put the team together, which pieces are missing right now. Obviously there's a lot of stuff that needs to be done in New York but if somebody's going to be ready to do it it is Phil."

Clock ticking on Woodson? Here’s the latest on the timetable for the Knicks’ coaching decision:

It’s widely believed that the New York Knicks have already made the decision to move on from coach Mike Woodson, but sources tell ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard that nothing will be announced this weekend.

Woodson's fate is likely to be announced early next week, Broussard reports.

Some Knicks fans want to know: why the hold up?

Here are a few theories:

1. Knicks president Phil Jackson hasn’t entirely made up his mind yet and needs time to deliberate. Though, you’d think that Jackson has an idea of who he’d like to coach the team, since he took over in an official capacity more than a month ago and has been in negotiations since December.

2. The Knicks may be in no rush to let Woodson go because they are under no time restriction to hire a new head coach. If you’re talking about hard deadlines, obviously the Knicks would like to hire a coach before free agency begins on July 1. So they could wait at least two months before hiring a coach. Unless they buy a second-round pick, they don’t really NEED a coach in place before the draft because they have no pick. But the guess here is that they will move quickly and hire a head coach if and when they let Woodson go.

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