Nets fire Kenny Atkinson as head coach: ‘Some of the players wanted him gone’

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Atkinson helped lead the Nets out of the lowest point of their rebuild. Now he and the franchise have parted ways.

The Brooklyn Nets and head coach Kenny Atkinson “mutually parted ways” Saturday morning, the team announced. The decision was made after the Nets’ 139-120 win over the San Antonio Spurs Friday night.

A split between the Nets and Atkinson was inevitable this offseason, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, and both sides saw no reason to delay it until the summer. Jacque Vaughn will serve as the team’s interim head coach the rest of the year.

The news sent shockwaves around the NBA. The decision was reportedly made Friday. Nets general manager Sean Marks released this statement following the decision.

Atkinson had played a key part in rebuilding the Nets during his previous three seasons as head coach, leading the team to the Eastern Conference playoffs last season and putting them in position to make the postseason again this year. Of course, the stakes around the Nets changed when the franchise signed Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving as free agents last summer. While Durant has missed the entire season with a torn Achilles and Irving played in only 20 games while battling a shoulder injury, the two superstars’ presence hangs over the future of the organization.

According to Anthony Puccio of Nets Daily, some players in the Brooklyn locker room wanted Atkinson gone.

It is worth noting that Durant had kind words for Atkinson at his introductory press conference with Brooklyn.

“I was doing a lot of You Tube research on Kenny Atkinson and watching interviews seeing how he talked after the game. I really liked his approach to his craft as a coach. That drew me in pretty quickly. I didn’t really do too much research on other coaches. I guess you always have to learn that.

“But once I started getting comfortable how he coaches his craft, it started to make me feel at ease even though I never had a conversation with him. I could just see it through You Tube and clips that he was pretty genuine about the game. Obviously, I talked with Kyrie and then watching the team and knowing Caris and all that stuff kind of combined at once.

“Obviously, being from the East Coast, it was something I was really excited about. I’ve played most of my basketball in the Midwest or the West Coast, so I was excited about playing just a few hours from home (in Baltimore). All that stuff played a factor when I thought about it all, but basketball was probably the main thing.”

Irving also had kind words for Atkinson in the preseason.

Despite preseason praise from the two superstars, this has been a popular sentiment in the wake of the news:

Atkinson took over the Nets at the low point of their rebuild at the start of the 2016-17 season. He steadily improved the team each of his first three years, going from 20 wins, to 28 wins, to 42 wins. Atkinson is likely to be a hot coaching candidate around the league in the summer.

Who could hire Atkinson?

There has been early speculation that Atkinson will interest several teams during the offseason. Here are a few possible options:

• The New York Knicks: the Knicks fired David Fizdale in December and are currently led by interim coach Mike Miller. The Knicks have one of the bottom five records in the league and could use a culture overhaul similar to the one Atkinson helped install a subway ride away in Brooklyn.
• The Philadelphia 76ers: there has been speculation that head coach Brett Brown could be let go if the Sixers fail to meet expectations in the playoffs this year. This has been a trying season for Philadelphia after being widely picked to win the Eastern Conference in the preseason. The Sixers currently sit as the No. 6 seed in the East.
• The Chicago Bulls: while Chicago management has supported head coach Jim Boylen, the Bulls have struggled since he replaced Fred Hoiberg. Chicago set playoff expectations for itself at the onset of the season and will miss the postseason for the third year in a row.
• The Cleveland Cavaliers: the Cavs parted ways with John Beilein after the NBA All-Star break. Cleveland also needs a culture reset similar to the one Atkinson helped lead in Brooklyn.

Who will the Nets hire?

There has been no speculation yet on who the Nets could bring on in the offseason. We’ll update this post as names get mentioned.