The NBA world doesn’t really know what to make of Kenny Atkinson’s half-firing, half-resignation
The Brooklyn Nets won the summer when they signed Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant this past offseason.
Fast forward to now, and it appears the honeymoon phase has already ended in New York’s largest borough.
The Nets just announced that Kenny Atkinson is OUT as coach … pic.twitter.com/VzIj2NVsuf
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) March 7, 2020
Less than a full season into the Durant-Irving era, the Nets and head coach Kenny Atkinson have parted ways, without him ever coaching Durant and having only coached Irving for 20 games.
And so far, nobody really knows what caused the split.
Somebody has to explain why a GREAT Coach like Kenny Atkinson gets fired?
— DeMarre Carroll (@DeMarreCarroll1) March 7, 2020
Well, DeMarre, it might have been his own doing.
League source tells Yahoo Sports Kenny Atkinson wasn’t keen on coaching KD and Kyrie next season: “Kenny pushed for the parting just as much, if not more than Brooklyn.”
https://t.co/tvY6mgl1Ic pic.twitter.com/NGZRGi6rdL
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) March 8, 2020
But that doesn’t make much sense, does it?
Kenny Atkinson didn’t want to coach Kyrie and KD, and Kyrie prefers Tyronn Lue to take over ?@VinceGoodwill on the Nets ➡️ https://t.co/SQrWCfkJMo pic.twitter.com/3Lb4Upt6VR
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) March 8, 2020
Oh. Well…
We’re not quite sure what Atkinson saw, but what we saw was a coach in the middle of guiding an injury-riddled Nets team to the playoffs for the second consecutive season, after getting them to the playoffs for the first time since 2015 last season.
Brooklyn’s ‘championship or bust’ aspirations weren’t scheduled to kick-in until next season, when a fully healthy Durant returned to the court.
Now, the Nets find themselves back at square one, trying to find a coach to lead this franchise to heights it hasn’t seen before.
Finding their next head coach won’t be easy for Brooklyn, considering they have two superstars who have notoriously clashed with head coaches in the past.
“KD pushed back on Billy Donovan… He pushed back on Steve Kerr, even though he won 2 championships. And pushing back on a coach who he hasn’t even played a game for strikes me as mildly ironic.” — @GottliebShow pic.twitter.com/VJENGCyr10
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) March 10, 2020
Durant had his issues with not only Billy Donovan in Oklahoma City, but Steve Kerr in Golden State.
And in the case of Irving, this is now the third coach in four years that he seems not to have meshed with, after stints in Cleveland with Tyronn Lue and in Boston with Brad Stevens went awry.
.@ShannonSharpe reacts to the Nets firing Kenny Atkinson:
“You’re not firing this coach without running it by your 2 superstars. They might not have initiated it, but they signed off. I don’t know Kenny Atkinson from a can of paint, but this is not good. He deserved better.” pic.twitter.com/YHFw7U20RS
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) March 10, 2020
Interestingly enough, Lue has been the name floated around the most in recent days as a potential candidate to replace Atkinson on the Nets’ sidelines.
And, to be honest, he makes the most sense.
“T. Lue is the guy. He’s going to hold guys accountable, he has the experience — how many coaches can win a championship down 3-1? He’s going to demand respect from everyone, KD & Kyrie included. They’re not going to be bigger than the team if T. Lue is the coach.” —@DaTrillStak5 pic.twitter.com/y1sNY2VbPb
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) March 10, 2020
Lue coached Irving for three seasons in Cleveland, two of which he served as the head coach.
In those three seasons the Cavaliers went to three NBA Finals, winning it all in 2016.
If there is one coach who is familiar with Irving and could get the most out of the mercurial star, it’s Lue.
Best coaches for KD, Kyrie & the Nets, according to @getnickwright:
・ Ty Lue
・ Mark Jackson
・ Jason Kidd“If you think Giannis is a chess piece that’s on the board in a year & a half, adding Kidd would be potentially a very prescient move in that direction.” — @getnickwright pic.twitter.com/189tqpZ6jD
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) March 10, 2020
One thing is for certain: with the firing of Atkinson, the onus is on Irving and Durant to right Brooklyn’s ship.
“At this point, KD & Kyrie know where this team needs to go better than the coach. They’re going to be a bigger part than him.” — @DaTrillStak5 pic.twitter.com/WREa1CQn2C
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) March 10, 2020
