Tag: Kenny Aktinson

DeAndre Jordan refutes reports about Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving playing a role in Kenny Atkinson’s departure

DeAndre Jordan has no interest in entertaining the idea Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving had a say in the Nets and Kenny Atkinson parting ways.

There have been mixed reports about Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant possibly having a hand in Kenny Atkinson’s departure as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets.

Given Atkinson helped take the organization from being a 20-win team to a playoff team that attracted superstars, this mutual parting of ways felt abrupt and odd. Nets general manager Sean Marks expressed the decision was not made overnight, but something he and the ex-Nets head coach discussed for a few months.

While it seems strange for Atkinson to want to step away from something he helped build over the course of multiple seasons, a report stating he wasn’t fond of coaching Durant and Irving based on what he saw this season also surfaced.

DeAndre Jordan was shocked by the news of Atkinson’s departure. But when it came to the subject of Durant and Irving being involved, the center wanted none of it.

“I think whatever you’re saying and whatever the reports are, are bull [expletive],” Jordan said when asked about the reports.

Jordan then expanded further:

“They’re just trying to get in the locker room, make it a thing about the guys who aren’t even here, you know, playing, who are getting healthy,” he told reporters. “That’s what we need to focus on is those guys getting back right so they can help our team be successful. I don’t care about — I mean no offense to you guys — I don’t care about what the media says about our team. We know what’s going on in here and where we wanna be. And this is just something to divide us as players and as an organization.”

In addition to Saturday being the Nets first game without Atkinson, it was also Jordan’s first start for Brooklyn since January 2, and only his fifth of 2019-20.

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Kenny Atkinson: Nets ‘not resilient enough to get stops’

Brooklyn’s defense was once against a problem in the Nets loss to the Phoenix Suns.

Kenny Atkinson wasn’t thrilled with the fact the Nets allowed the Phoenix Suns to score 138 points in Brooklyn’s loss on Sunday.

Despite the fact the Nets have identified their defensive struggles since the start of the season, they haven’t been able to get it together on that end of the floor through the first nine games. Communication has been a problem. Rotations have been sloppy, too.

On multiple occasions, the Nets offense has been able to make up for Brooklyn’s defensive deficiencies. But the offense wasn’t clicking on Sunday, so the Nets had next to no chance against the Suns.

Atkinson made clear after the game, “we’re not resilient enough to get stops.”

One thing we gotta do, when we’re not making shots like tonight, you gotta learn how to get stops when you’re not making shots. We’re missing and missing, and they’re coming at us. It’s tough when you’re missing all the time, but we have to be more resilient.