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Former NBA player and General Manager Steve Kerr, now an analyst, doesn’t disagree. “I really think it’s hurt the pro and college game,” Kerr says. “I think what’s happened is that we’re getting sort of an adolescent element to the NBA. It’s unhealthy; these guys aren’t ready. Some of them are ready physically; almost none are ready emotionally. And it’s weakened the NBA product. I would personally like to see the rule that extends the limit not to one year but three years.” Like baseball? “Like baseball, or forget the high school stuff altogether,” Kerr says. “Just three years, tough luck, like football. People can talk individual rights or whatever, big deal. Really, if I’m in the NBA, am I more worried about the rights of a 19-year-old kid or the quality of our business and our product? San Diego Union-Tribune

Draft, Steve Kerr, CBA 

Kevin Ding: Reflecting on career, Phil took little jabs at Smush, Sasha and Farmar. Phil's favorites included HGrant, Kerr, Buechler. Twitter

Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Jordan Farmar, Steve Kerr, Sasha Vujacic, Phil Jackson, Coaching, Horace Grant, Smush Parker, Jud Buechler 

"I don't recall a trade like that ever happening, to be honest with you. The Pistons won the title when they got Rasheed Wallace at midseason, but they didn't give anything up. They altered their chemistry, but they didn't subtract a key guy. I've never seen anything like this." TNT's Steve Kerr, referring to the controversial deal Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge swung last month that sent Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City and landed Jeff Green in Boston, abruptly changing the identity of a team that, as of All-Star Weekend, was the closest thing in the league to a consensus title favorite. ESPN.com

Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder, Trade, Steve Kerr, Danny Ainge, Kendrick Perkins, Jeff Green 

Kerr applauded Ainge's willingness to ignore the inevitable negative reaction to do what he thought was right, sounding legitimately envious of the decisiveness required for Ainge to send Perkins away before facing the expensive prospect of trying to re-sign him to import Green and a 2012 first-round pick to fill the Celts' clear need for youth and athleticism in the frontcourt. "So gutsy and so risky," Kerr said. ESPN.com

Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder, Trade, Steve Kerr, Danny Ainge, Kendrick Perkins, Jeff Green 

Interviews with a half-dozen N.B.A. scouts and front-office personnel provide a portrait of Fredette as a professional prospect. He is generally considered offensively gifted, defensively challenged and destined to be a solid rotation player in the N.B.A. Stardom, however, is unlikely, the scouts and front-office personnel said. Comparative players that came up were Jeff Hornacek, Steve Kerr, Kyle Korver and Jason Kapono. “I think he’ll be a really good pro, but not great,” said a Western Conference executive, who would not be named because he is not permitted to talk about prospects. “He’ll be a guy who is a better Steve Kerr, a better Kyle Korver. A better Kapono. Both those guys can’t put the ball on the floor.” New York Times

Draft, Steve Kerr, Kyle Korver, Jason Kapono, Jimmer Fredette, Jeff Hornacek 

The Knicks could wind up facing the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs. "I would favor the Bulls heavily over the Knicks in a playoff series," Kerr said. Chicago Tribune

Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Steve Kerr 

Paul Allen's Blazers, under first-year GM Rich Cho, could be an exception. Portland is riddled with injuries once again and residing in the lower half of the West playoff picture. Miller and Marcus Camby are potential chips. Some have suggested that Brandon Roy, who's set to return this week, could also be in play. "That's one team that I can see make a move," Kerr said. "They're saddled with some bad, long-term deals. I could see them doing something. Cho when he got there made a pretty big deal about how there was going to be change, and they've been waiting for change and nothing's happened." As for where 'Melo eventually ends up, Kerr's guess is probably as good as anyone else's. Well, probably a little better. "I would lean," he said, "and not that confidently in the camp that he stays in Denver." NBA.com

Portland Trail Blazers, Trade, Steve Kerr, Paul Allen, Rich Cho, Brandon Roy, Marcus Camby 

Lon Babby: "It happened in a bizarre way. I had known [Suns owner] Robert Sarver through my dealings with Grant, and when Steve Kerr decided to leave [as Suns GM last spring] I told Grant that it would be important for us to try to participate, if welcomed, in some kind of search for the general manager -- to the extent that Robert was willing to hear a player's point of view, I was happy to vet candidates with him. "So I called Robert and somehow from those conversations evolved a job interview. And one day I said to him, 'This is starting to sound like a job interview, I haven't had a job interview in 35 years.' And that's when I immediately shifted gears and said I need to make sure I'm ethically on solid ground with the players. SI.com

Phoenix Suns, Steve Kerr, Lon Babby, Robert Sarver 

In regards to Riley, the owners' support came with a qualifier from Lacob that they had his back "right now" and that they simply needed more time to work together before final conclusions are drawn. But two sources close to the situation expect Riley, eventually, to be supplanted by a bigger-name executive and placed in a supplementary role. A name that is atop Lacob's wish list, I was told, is Steve Kerr. FanHouse.com

Golden State Warriors, Steve Kerr, Larry Riley 

The former Phoenix president of basketball operations abruptly resigned in mid-June and is now a commentator for TNT, a development that, Lacob said on Monday, railroaded the plans of his Stanford graduate son, Kirk Lacob, to join the Suns' staff during the summer. Kirk's safety net came when Dear Old Dad beat out Larry Ellison to buy the Warriors and he was hired as Director of Basketball Operations for Golden State. The senior Lacob, the sources said, is enamored with Kerr and would be thrilled if he could convince him to head for the Bay Area. Here's to hoping the Turner folks book Kerr for the Warriors' TNT game at home against Phoenix on Dec. 2, if only because the commentary might take on new meaning. FanHouse.com

Golden State Warriors, Steve Kerr, Larry Riley 

As recently as last season, Kerr ran the Phoenix Suns' front office. He was asked about Denver's front office and the release of Bret Bearup, a longtime adviser, by Nuggets executives Masai Ujiri and Josh Kroenke. "Bearup's departure is not surprising with all the turnover," Kerr said. "Denver had too many cooks in the kitchen the past few years. Now they're streamlining and moving on to (the) Josh/Masai combo." Denver Post

Denver Nuggets, Steve Kerr, Masai Ujiri, Josh Kroenke, Bret Bearup 

There are new rumblings out of Phoenix if the Suns falter, Steve Nash will on the trading block. Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni and Amar'e Stoudemire would give their left lung to reunite with the veteran playmaker. Nash lives in SoHo in the summer and has given vibes about being intrigued about ending his career as a Knick. Steve Kerr, the ex-Suns president who worked last night's Knicks-Bulls game for TNT, however, said he feels the Knicks wouldn't have the pieces to land Nash. For that matter, he feels they couldn't land Carmelo Anthony either. "In that situation where you want to start over, maybe rebuild, you got to get draft picks and the Knicks don't have any. They gave them to Houston," Kerr told The Post before the Knicks' 120-112 victory. "I don't see what you put together on that roster that makes sense for Phoenix. Or Denver." New York Post

New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns, Steve Kerr, Steve Nash 

Kerr, who quit in June to go back to TV, said he can foresee Phoenix moving forward with a Nash trade if it believes it can't win now. "Nobody's untradeable," Kerr said. "I know a year ago no way we would've considered that. But if a team struggles and looks like it won't be a playoff team, they have to consider all their options. But you can't just do it for the sake of doing it. You have to hit a home run. The reality is I don't see any deal put together for those two teams." New York Post

New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns, Steve Kerr, Steve Nash 

Given the power exerted by NBA players during this summer’s free agency period, and the power plays Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony have attempted on their current teams, the franchise tag would seem to be an appealing option for owners if they want to keep a star player from leaving via free agency. One former general manager agrees. “The franchise tag would be a huge hit for the owners,” said Steve Kerr, who returned to TNT’s broadcast booth as its lead game analyst after three years as general manager of the Phoenix Suns. “One of the biggest issues they’re trying to accomplish with this next CBA is cutting down the length of guaranteed contracts and getting rid of dead money — when a guy signs a $100 million deal and he gets injured.” SLAM

Steve Kerr, CBA 

Not only did Phoenix lose big pieces from their roster, the front office underwent change as well after Steve Kerr and David Griffin resigned. While the Suns have done a good job hiring Lon Baby as team president and Lance Blanks as the new general manager, the changes surprised Dudley. "It surprised me a lot because we just went to the Western Conference Finals and were on the brink of going up 3-2 against the Lakers and possibly going to the Finals. Usually when stuff like that happens, you bring back your team and people in the organization get raises or extensions. That's what usually happens when you go to the Western Conference Finals, not the team gets broken up and management leaves. I was shocked by that. I was a huge Kerr guy because obviously he traded for me, was great with us, and everybody liked Steve Kerr and David Griffin. We now have Lon Babby and I don't know the new general manager's name but obviously [Robert] Sarver has done his due diligence and we just hope that we get in training camp and mesh early. It's going to be crucial for us to get off to a great start because if not then that's when stuff like trades and all of that happens." HoopsWorld

Phoenix Suns, Steve Kerr, Jared Dudley, David Griffin, Lon Babby 

Kerr endorsed the Suns' selection of Lance Blanks, Cleveland's assistant GM for five years, to replace him as Suns GM. Kerr said he was not doing so as a Suns part-owner but as an analyst for TNT and NBATV. Kerr played two of his final NBA seasons in San Antonio when Blanks started as a scout there in 2000 and became director of scouting in 2002. "He's a great choice," Kerr said. "He's just a really good person. He's a good man. He's a hard worker, really smart and good with people. He loves the game. He's had good mentors in Joe Dumars, Pop (Gregg Popovich) and R.C. Buford and Danny Ferry. Danny is a good friend of mine, and he raves about him and thinks he's fantastic. Arizona Republic

Phoenix Suns, Steve Kerr, Lance Blanks 

Agent Lon Babby is in the running to become president of the Phoenix Suns even as one of his top clients, Hedo Turkoglu, was traded to the team Monday. But despite concerns among rival team executives about a conflict of interest, Babby disclosed his dealings with Suns owner Robert Sarver to Turkoglu, recused himself from representing the former Raptors forward, and received a written waiver from Turkoglu acknowledging his approval of the circumstances, two people with knowledge of the situation told CBSSports.com. The meticulous approach is no surprise, given Babby's reputation of being one of the most forthright agents in the business. Nonetheless, word of Babby's candidacy to succeed Steve Kerr in Phoenix raised "red flags" among rival executives, one of the execs told CBSSports.com. Not only was Turkoglu traded to the Suns Monday, but he also agreed to waive a $5 million trade kicker and reduce the amount guaranteed in the final year of his contract as part of the deal, sources said. CBSSports.com

Phoenix Suns, Steve Kerr, Lon Babby 

Two people familiar with Turkoglu's situation told CBSSports.com that Babby's partner at Washington, D.C., law firm Williams & Connolly, Jim Tanner, had assumed the role of representing Turkoglu in view of Babby's candidacy to become the Suns' president. Babby also has long represented Suns forward Grant Hill. Turkoglu also was receiving independent advice from his financial adviser, who approved the contractual changes that facilitated the trade to Phoenix, the people said. "Hedo was so unhappy in Toronto that he would've waived the trade kicker regardless," a third person with knowledge of the arrangement said. CBSSports.com

Phoenix Suns, Trade, Steve Kerr, Hidayet Turkoglu, Lon Babby 

He was Amare's Stoudemire's boss the last three seasons, but Steve Kerr gives a slight edge to Chris Bosh when comparing him to the newest Knick. Kerr, the former Suns GM who left Phoenix after the season and is now working for TNT, compared and contrasted the twin 6-foot-10, 245-pound All-Star free-agent power forwards yesterday for The Post. "I think the attraction of Bosh is that he's a little younger, a little more healthy than Amar'e. He's probably a little better defender. Maybe a little better overall player," Kerr said. "I think Amar'e is more explosive and more feared by defenses. But they're both excellent players, All-Star players. "I don't think either one is going to be a No. 1 guy who's going to lead a team to a title. Both guys need help. . . . I think the reason some people give Bosh a little bit of an edge is the injury history." New York Post

Amare Stoudemire, Steve Kerr, Chris Bosh 

The Phoenix Suns have received permission to speak to Bucks assistant general manager Jeff Weltman about the Suns' vacant general manager post, the Bucks confirmed. Suns owner Robert Sarver is looking for a replacement for Steve Kerr, who chose to leave after three years as general manager. Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns, Steve Kerr, Jeff Weltman