The End of the Atkinson Era in Brooklyn

All good things must come to an end. For Sean Marks and the Brooklyn Nets, Kenny Atkinson’s tenure as head coach was seemingly a good thing. And yet seemingly out of nowhere, it came to an untimely end.

Kenny Atkinson was brought on to coach this Brooklyn Nets squad in 2016, after holding positions in both Atlanta and New York. Atkinson was known to be a hardworking, on-the-floor coach, with a spotlight on player development, especially point guards. Atkinson had contributed to Dennis Schroder’s rise in Atlanta, and Jeremy Lin’s “Linsanity”.

Atkinson was a great fit in Brooklyn, as there were plenty of young players to develop. He got right to work, working with G-leaguers Spencer Dinwiddie and Joe Harris to great effect. Atkinson was given D’Angelo Russell, a former second-overall pick whose career got off to a rocky start in the City of Angels, and in short order turned him into an All-Star and the best player on a playoff team.

Before this tumultuous season, Atkinson had led Brooklyn to an improved record consistently every season, culminating with a 42-40 finish last year and the Nets’ first playoff berth since the Marks/Atkinson regime began.

Even with the success of the past few years, however, Atkinson and the Nets “mutually agreed to part ways.” PR spin notwithstanding, it’s doubtful this divorce was truly “mutual.”

It’s unclear who was pulling the levers here. Was it Joe Tsai and the new ownership group, Sean Marks and the front office, or Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and DeAndre Jordan?

In a press conference hours later, Marks denied the rumor that either Durant or Irving were advocating for a firing. "This is a decision that wasn't even about Kevin, Kyrie, Caris, Joe, Spencer, Jarrett Allen.” Marks said. “This was a decision Kenny, myself and ownership came up with, and the players were all told this morning ahead of the release."

But in a podcast later that weekend, however, ESPN Insider Zach Lowe mentioned that Jarrett Allen starting over DeAndre Jordan - a decision made by Kenny Atkinson, and the objectively correct one - could’ve been a factor in unrest with the coach.

Kenny had built a reputation of being a player’s coach prior to this season. But perhaps this characterization was unfounded, at least partially. For much of last year, Atkinson had a very tight leash on star D’Angelo Russell, which many have speculated to the now-Wolves guard disliking him.

Atkinson’s in-game adjustments were questionable, and his rotations were suspect. Atkinson’s refusal to bench Tauren Prince this year is proof positive. Ditto his questionable use of timeouts during the 2019 postseason. For goodness sake, he got out-coached by Brett Brown!

Next season is a huge one for Brooklyn, their most important in a while. This offseason, Brooklyn acquired two superstars in Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant in a risky, franchise-altering summer. Both players bring a healthy amount of off the court baggage with them, including concerning injury history.

Next year is a deciding factor in whether or not this new stars-studded Nets roster will be able to contend for a championship in this new, parity-filled NBA. Clearly, they were not confident Atkinson was fit for the job.