Mike D'Antoni

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PHOENIX — Mike D'Antoni remains the head coach of the Phoenix Suns for now.

He says he wants to stay. General manager Steve Kerr says he wants D'Antoni to stay.

But after an average of 58 wins a season but no trips beyond the Western Conference finals — and in the wake of a frustrating first-round loss to the San Antonio Spurs this season — will D'Antoni return for a fifth season?

Stay tuned.

Kerr said a decision will come in the next few days when the two, supposedly with owner Robert Sarver in the mix, talk about the future of both D'Antoni and the franchise.

Kerr said the communication lines remain open, and the friendship between coach and GM is intact — despite clashes in philosophy that have reportedly boiled over into heated discussions during the season.

"Mike's our coach. We're hoping that we can move forward together," said Kerr, a former UA guard. "We're going to meet over the course of the next several days and talk about how we can make this organization better and go from there."

"I think Mike wants to be back. I'd like to see him back. I'm hopeful that we can move forward together."

D'Antoni, though, might not want to come back if Kerr mandates changes he believes are needed, whether they be getting Amare Stoudemire more involved in the offense, going deeper into his bench, putting more emphasis on defense or making changes to his coaching staff.

"It's been well-documented that we have some different ideas and different approaches," Kerr said. "What we have to do is talk and make sure we can get on the same page in terms of how we can get better.

"Mike has been a terrific coach for four years. I have great respect for him. I like him personally, and we get along fine. But we have to get better. This was disappointing to go out in the first round, so we have to figure out together how our team can improve."

Before Kerr's comments, D'Antoni spoke to the media for less than two minutes Wednesday, saying only, "I'll get with Steve and Robert in a few days. … Hopefully we go on and get this team over the top."

D'Antoni has two years remaining on a contract that would pay him about $8.5 million. And although he has already been mentioned for job openings in Chicago and New York and for a possible reunion with close friend and Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo in Toronto, scenarios of D'Antoni resigning or the Suns firing him are strewn with financial complications.

A disagreement between the two boiled over in a November meeting in which Kerr made suggestions for the offense that ruffled D'Antoni, who reportedly told Kerr: "Don't tell me how to coach offense."

The validity of that story was confirmed weeks later, although both sides said the dust-up had been smoothed over. The two provided a united front when the Suns pulled the trade for Shaquille O'Neal in February — a move championed by D'Antoni and later approved by Kerr.

But as the Suns opened the playoffs with a crucial double-overtime loss and fell into an 0-3 hole against the defending champions, Kerr chose not to respond to questions about D'Antoni's future — fueling speculation and irking both D'Antoni and those close to him for what was seen as a lack of support.

"The series didn't go well for us, and (D'Antoni) became a story, and I said it was a non-issue and we were focusing on the Spurs … and that was the truth," Kerr said. "Somehow, it became an issue from there."

Kerr said that although he has concerns about the age of the team he does not think an overhaul is necessary and is excited to have O'Neal for a full season.

"We're not a team that's looking to build for 2015, but we feel with this group we can be really good for the next several years," Kerr said.