Former Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson is on the move again, this time reportedly close to becoming the lead assistant in Golden State.
The move was first reported by The Athletic.
Atkinson – currently an assistant with the Clippers – went 118-190 with the Nets over four seasons. He took over the worst team in the NBA and quickly made the playoffs in 2018-19, and had Brooklyn en route to last year’s postseason before being relieved of his duties in March 2020. Or more to the point, Kyrie Irving tired of him.
The Long Island-bred Atkinson did a solid job in developing the likes of onetime castoffs like Spencer Dinwiddie and Joe Harris, and low draft picks like Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert. But once the Nets landing Irving and Kevin Durant and moved into full superteam mode, Atkinson clashed with his stars.
Upon parting ways with Brooklyn, Atkinson landed with Ty Lue’s Clippers as one of the highest-paid assistants in the entire NBA. After having his name linked with several head coaching openings this summer – and not getting any of them – the Warriors brought him to San Francisco. He joins Mike Brown as another former head coach on Steve Kerr’s bench.
Ex-Nets forward Rodions Kurucs inked a two-year deal with KK Partizan in Serbia, according to the club.