NEWSLETTER
Well, that’s surprising!
Playoff-bound with just 20 games left in the regular season, the Brooklyn Nets have fired head coach Kenny Atkinson:
The Brooklyn Nets and Head Coach Kenny Atkinson have mutually agreed to part ways. Jacque Vaughn will serve as head coach for the remainder of the season.
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) March 7, 2020
While many around the NBA felt blindsided by this announcement, the Nets released a statement calling this a “mutually agreed” upon decision. I’m not going to rule things out, but for a coach who’s been well respected around the NBA and currently has his team sitting with the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference (despite a handful of injuries), one has to think there’s more to the story.
I suppose it is possible the Nets felt Atkinson’s 28-34 record wasn’t cutting it. However, with Kyrie Irving playing only 20 games this season and Kevin Durant recovering from his ruptured Achilles, this felt more like a bridge year to the 2020-21 season from the very beginning. And yet, Atkinson was able to keep his team competitive and in the playoff picture.
And how about the timing? How odd is it? Within the last three games, the Nets had a 51-point performance from Caris LeVert in an overtime win against the Celtics and posted 139 points on the San Antonio Spurs in a dominant victory. So what’s the deal?
Well, with all of that in mind, the most logically speculative step is that certain players on the team didn’t want him around – and whaddaya know, that seems to be exactly the case:
Source tells me in regards to Kenny Atkinson’s departure: “(Some) of the players wanted him gone.”
— Anthony Puccio (@APOOCH) March 7, 2020
Let’s just put it this way, if Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving wanted Kenny Atkinson as their head coach, I wouldn’t be writing this post. Perhaps many of the players grew to have some level of animosity toward the guy, but I suppose we’ll have to wait and see if any new information can provide clarity on the situation.
The only thing we know for certain is that Atkinson is a free agent. His work building the Brooklyn Nets organization from the ground up has been well-documented and the culture he’s established has been well-received (I guess … until now). Looking toward the summer, there is no question Atkinson will be viewed as one of the best head coaching candidates in the market.
*Turns head to look right into the eyes of Michael Reinsdorf*
Bulls fans can only hope right now that this franchise is looking for a new head coach in a couple of months, but if they do finally get to that point, Atkinson should certainly be on their list. A seasoned veteran in NBA circles, Atkinson has proven with the Nets that he can successfully bolster a team’s reputation and culture relatively quickly.
Ultimately, the decision to fire Jim Boylen and hire a new head coach will come from whomever the Bulls hire to run the organization – be it a big name like Sam Presti (if they can pry him away) or multiple hires elsewhere:
Obsessive Front Office Watch: Presti-Type Not Off the Table, But Are Multiple Smaller Hires More Likely?https://t.co/ALdQyOY0uO
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) March 5, 2020
Relatedly, this is now the third team in the Eastern Conference to fire their head coach mid-season. In other words, IT’S OKAY TO DO THAT. The Knicks, Cavaliers, and Nets have all taken a step toward fixing one of their main problems at hand, while the Bulls have sat on their hands.
Yahoo Sports Keith Smith said it best:
I will say this for the Nets and Atkinson parting ways: If there is any doubt, just do it immediately. Not enough teams act quickly enough in this regard. Once that doubt creeps in, the coach is done. Either then or down the line. Just pull the plug when it first happens.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) March 7, 2020
In my opinion, a lot more than doubt has already crept into the Bulls locker room with respect to Jim Boylen. Even just last night Denzel Valentine went on record practically telling reporters Jim Boylen’s voice doesn’t matter.
With any luck – and with all the hope – the Bulls will take cues from their Eastern Conference counterparts and encourage their newly “empowered” front office hires to make a change at head coach.
