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Yet he said he would love to get back into a front-office job sometime in the future.
"Yeah, absolutely," he said. "I enjoy this. It's not always easy but it's eventful and it's very challenging and I love the competition."
Kerr starred at the University of Arizona and played in the NBA for 15 years. Known for his precise long-range shooting, he was on five teams that won the championship.
His departure from the Suns comes as the team negotiates with All-Star Amare Stoudemire, who can opt out of the last year of his contract on July 1. Stoudemire has said agent Happy Waters has developed a close relationship with Kerr.
Kerr met Sarver through mutual friend Lute Olson, the Hall of Fame former coach at Arizona. Kerr helped Sarver buy the Suns from Jerry Colangelo, then was hired to run the team despite no front-office experience.
Kerr learned on the job.
Some moves worked out, such as the trade of Boris Diaw and Raja Bell to Charlotte for Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley and the 2009 drafting of Robin Lopez and Goran Dragic.
Some didn't, such as the expensive experiment with Shaquille O'Neal and hiring of Terry Porter as coach.
Suns coach Mike D'Antoni left after the 2008 season, taking the same job with the New York Knicks after what were described as philosophical differences. Kerr said he simply wanted D'Antoni to emphasize a little defense and use more, preferably younger, players.
Last season's team was predicted to barely make the playoffs, at best. Instead, the Suns went 54-28 and were the No. 3 seed in the West. Phoenix beat Portland in six games in the first round, then swept longtime nemesis San Antonio in four before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers 4-2 in the Western Conference finals.
"This is a huge roller-coaster ride, this job, the emotional swings," Kerr said. "There's nothing like when you're up on top of the mountain, and there's nothing worse than being on the bottom. The last two years, I feel like I've much seen it all. Last year was miserable, this year was euphoric."
[Associated Press;
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