Steve Kerr takes his name out of Trail Blazers’ GM search

Steve Kerr had an informal phone interview with the Portland Trail Blazers last week but told the team that he is not interested in its open general manager job.

Kerr originally was approached by the Blazers last May about replacing Rich Cho as GM, but he gave them the same answer he gave this time around: he wants to stay in broadcasting because it allows him to spend more time with his family than he could as a GM.

“He likes (Blazers president) Larry (Miller), and certainly isn’t closing any doors, but right now he loves his life at TNT," Mark Bartelstein, Kerr’s agent, told The Oregonian. “He will come back to the NBA in the future, whether it’s as a coach or in the front office, but that’s a few years down the road."

While Kerr was again the first candidate contacted by the Blazers, according to The Oregonian, Yahoo! Sports reported Tuesday that the organization also has interviewed agent Noah Croom. Miller acknowledged that he has conducted two interviews—one on the phone with Kerr, and the other in person, presumably, with Croom.

Meanwhile, former New Orleans Hornets GM Jeff Bower is “very intrigued” by the Blazers gig and “would definitely be interested in interviewing for the position” should the team call.

Bower, according to a Business Week study, had the best drafting record of any NBA GM in the last decade, with picks such as Chris Paul (No.4 in 2006 NBA Draft), David West (No. 18 in '03), and Darren Collison (No. 21 in the ‘09 Draft).