Atkins played for several coaches who have reputations as being among the best in the NBA — Doc Rivers, Mike Fratello and former Pistons coaches Rick Carlisle and Larry Brown. His goal is to take a little bit from each and mix it with his own style. “Ultimately, a coach is only as good as the guys on his team,” Atkins said. “It would be my job to guide and direct them. But ultimately, each guy would have to be a personal contractor to get themselves as good as they can possibly be, but also put it in a team concept. … I would take a little bit from all of those guys’ style and come up with my own formula that would be successful.”