Nobody hated on Kerr necessarily. They wondered why
A. Why he was THE most sought after coach, with ZERO coaching experience (GS and NY weren't the only teams after him)
B. Will he be better than a guy in Mark Jackson, who coached them to 50 wins and the best stretch in franchise history

As for the Knicks dodging a bullet...Fisher got the job KERR TURNED DOWN...so I don't know where that came from