Steve Kerr denied giving Phil Jackson a verbal commitment to become head coach of the New York Knicks before backing out when the Golden State Warriors' job became available.

"We were very close, but we never agreed to a contract,” Kerr told the Daily News Saturday night before working Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals for TNT. "We didn't have a handshake agreement or anything like that. But I did think I was going to go there. And I think Phil and I both thought it was going to happen.”

Kerr and Jackson had many phone conversations about the Knicks and he admitted that he may have strongly intimated that he would accept the job.

“I’m not upset he expressed it that way,” Kerr said. “I’m OK with that. But in the end, Phil knew I wasn't quite comfortable and he didn't hold me to any of our conversations. That's what is great about dealing with Phil. There was no pressure on me to take the job. He reiterated to me, ‘You need to feel good about this. You need to make sure of it.' That's why he didn't make a fuss about it, when I wanted to speak with Golden State.”