SI Insider: Kenny Atkinson Should Be Seriously Considered for Another NBA Head Coaching Job
It's been almost two months since Kenny Atkinson was let go in Brooklyn. It is a little bit strange that Atkinson has not found a new home yet, despite the way it ended with the Nets and some potential issues out there with Atkinson coaching stars like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving - Atkinson is still one of the best developmental coaches in all of basketball and certainly the best available developmental coach on the coaching market.
If you look at some of the teams that could be looking for new head coaches, their rosters seem to fit what Kenny Atkinson brings to the table.
The Chicago Bulls, who recently hired Arturas Karnisova as their top executive. They have got a young roster headlined by Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen, Wendell Carter, and Coby White, a promising young guard. A guy like Kenny Atkinson would make a lot of sense in Chicago.
Look across the borough to the New York Knicks, a team that's rebuilding a very good young roster headlined by RJ Barrett with another lottery pick on the way. Atkinson, a former assistant coach in New York, would make sense with the Knicks at this point.
Atkinson remains a free agent, but both of these teams should be considering Kenny Atkinson. Even if they aren't sure that he's able to coach a team that has stars. He has a proven track record of coaching young guys and making them better.
Look at what he did with D'Angelo Russell in Brooklyn, at the time when Russell was traded to Brooklyn - he was a top draft pick, but something of a distressed asset because of what happened with the Lakers.
Look at second round picks like Spencer Dinwiddie and Joe Harris - players that have blossomed under Atkinson. And a late first round pick like Caris Levert, who has turned into an all-star level player under the tutelage of Kenny Atkinson.
Hiring a head coach is an incredibly important moment for a franchise and incredibly important decision. And if you're out there with a team full of young players like Chicago and New York, you have to be looking strongly at Kenny Atkinson.
