The Brooklyn Nets have moved quickly to fill their head coaching vacancy. They have hired current Atlanta Hawks lead assistant Kenny Atkinson to be their head man, according to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.
Nets hire Hawks assistant Kenny Atkinson as next head coach
Atkinson has long been seen as one of the assistants most prepared for a head coaching gig.
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Nets general manager Sean Marks talked to several other candidates, but Atkinson was his top choice all along, according to Wojnarowski.
Atkinson has been with the Hawks since 2012, where he's risen from a player development specialist to Mike Budenholzer's lead assistant. The Long Island native began his coaching career with the crosstown Knicks in 2008 before heading to the Hawks. Many executives have long believed that Atkinson is the assistant most prepared to be a head coach, according to Wojnarowski.
Atkinson replaces interim coach Tony Brown, who finished out the Nets' 21-61 season after Lionel Hollins was fired in January. Atkinson's tenure promises to be a long slog as the Nets do not control their own first-round pick until 2019 thanks to an ill-fated trade with the Celtics. The hope is that his player development background will help the Nets maximize the talents of overlooked players.
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