The NBA world was shocked on Saturday when the Brooklyn Nets and Kenny Atkinson mutually parted ways. As Nets fans well know, Atkinson turned the Nets into a playoff team three years after he was handed a 21-win team.
But now he’s gone, and without getting the chance to see what he could do with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant on the floor together.
While it feels rather abrupt, Nets general manager Sean Marks said on Saturday that he and Atkinson had been discussing this for two or three months, which also goes along with the team labeling this separation as a mutual parting of ways.
What also supports that label is the report from Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports: “Kenny pushed for the parting just as much, if not more than Brooklyn.”
As for why Atkinson would push for this, Goodwill also indicated the former Nets head coach wasn’t interested in what his team would look like with the two superstars healthy. The Yahoo Sports’ report stated: “Atkinson wasn’t fond of coaching Durant and Irving based on what he saw this season.”