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Kenny Atkinson will not go to Charlotte after all.
The Golden State Warriors’ top assistant will remain with the team and will not become the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets after accepting a four-year contract to fill the position, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
By Woj: “After being offered [the] work during the NBA Finals, more conversations made Atkinson think it would be better to stay with the Warriors. “
Before Atkinson was offered the concert, Mike D’Antoni and Terry Stotts had been the other finalists for the work, according to Woj.
Nick Carboni @NickCarboniWCNC
Regardless of who
Jay King @ByJayKing
This man really won a championship and said “nahhhhh, I can’t do all this Hornets” lol.
Jason Huber @_JasonHuber
This is very embarrassing for the Hornets. So embarrassing
Dalton Johnson @DaltonJ_Johnson
Being around Kenny Atkinson in one of the Warriors’ NBA Finals training sessions meant training with Steve Kerr and living in the Bay Area as a “paradise.” Hornets, but Atkinson clearly couldn’t be happier where he is https://t.co/zhD8XSk0WF
Atkinson, 55, was assistant to head coach Steve Kerr last season after assisting the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2020-21 season.
He was the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets for four seasons before that, going only 118-190, but helping to rebuild the Nets and develop young talent even though the team did not have valuable draft capital given in a infamous and unequal 2013 business with Boston. Celtics.
This rebuild led to a place in the playoffs in the 2018-19 season and helped pave the way for an organizational renaissance that led to the signing of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
Prior to Brooklyn, Atkinson was an assistant to the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks.
His background as a rebuilder naturally made him a Hornets team around young star LaMelo Ball and a good supporting cast. That group went 43-39 and reached the play-in tournament, although they were unable to win a playoff spot.
Despite a third straight season of improvement, the Hornets opted to fire James Borrego, and it looked like they had a replacement for Atkinson.
Now, back to the drawing board in search of training.