Kenny Atkinson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kenny Atkinson To Receive Second Hornets Interview

May 17th, 2022 at 4:58pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Warriors assistant coach and former Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson is set for a second interview with the Hornets as a candidate for their head coaching vacancy, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Atkinson and the Warriors will face the Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals, set to tip off on Wednesday.

Prior to his Warriors tenure, Atkinson recorded a 118-190 record with Brooklyn from 2016-20. His middling record was largely due to the rebuilding team he coached prior to the free agency acquisitions of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in 2019. Atkinson has also notched assistant stints with the Knicks, Hawks and Clippers.

Earlier today, it was revealed that Bucks assistant Darvin Ham would also receive a second interview, and ex-Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts would be a candidate for the gig as well.

Former Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni, former Lakers head coach Frank Vogel, current Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney, Bucks assistant Charles Lee and Nets assistant David Vanterpool are also apparently in the running.

Following the 2021/22 season, Charlotte fired former head coach James Borrego. Borrego accrued a 138-163 record across four seasons with the Hornets. Led on the court by 2022 All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball, Charlotte qualified for the 2021 and 2022 play-in tournaments, but failed to advance to the playoffs either time.

Keep tabs on all the head coaching rumor mill chatter via our search tracker.

Lakers To Interview Kenny Atkinson In Coaching Search

May 11th, 2022 at 8:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers have been granted permission to interview Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson for their head coaching job, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Atkinson also interviewed for the coaching vacancy in Charlotte and was mentioned as a possibility in Sacramento. He joined Steve Kerr‘s staff prior to the start of the season after spending last year as an assistant with the Clippers, and has served as an assistant with the Knicks and Hawks as well.

Atkinson’s only previous head coaching experience came with the Nets from 2016-20. He posted a 118-190 record in Brooklyn, but helped to turn around a floundering franchise by developing young players. He resigned in March of 2020, reportedly amid dissatisfaction from Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

The Lakers have already interviewed ABC/ESPN broadcaster Mark Jackson, former Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts, Bucks assistant Darvin Ham and Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin since Frank Vogel was fired in April. A recent report suggested they may be waiting to see if Sixers coach Doc Rivers or Jazz coach Quin Snyder becomes available.

The Warriors are already set to lose one member of their coaching staff when Mike Brown takes over the Kings after Golden State’s playoff run ends.

Hornets Notes: Hayward, Bridges, Coaching Search, Harrell, Washington

May 5th, 2022 at 10:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hornets forward Gordon Hayward is a name to watch in the trade market, though injuries limit his value, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, who conducted a podcast with Charlotte Observer beat reporter Rod Boone.

Hayward is regarded as a “neutral asset” that the Hornets can move. However, it’s unlikely they’ll benefit much in terms of cap space if they deal the veteran, who has two years and $61.5MM remaining on his contract. One executive told Scotto they might be able to move him for two players making around $10-15MM apiece.

The Pacers are an unlikely destination after trading away Domantas Sabonis and building around younger pieces.

More highlights from the podcast:

Both Scotto and Boone anticipate Miles Bridges will get $25MM or more annually in restricted free agency. Scotto sees Bridges as being coveted due to his status as a young, two-way, big wing. The Trail Blazers could pursue him if they can’t trade for Jerami Grant and teams with cap space, like the Pistons, could also be a factor. Boone believes he’ll return to the Hornets due to unfinished business with an improving team. The fact that he’s close with LaMelo Ball also works in Charlotte’s favor.
Neither Scotto nor Boone believe Mike D’Antoni is a viable option in the search for a head coach. Former Nets coach Kenny Atkinson, Bucks assistant Darvin Ham and Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney are names to watch there. However, D’Antoni could wind up in Philadelphia if the Sixers let Doc Rivers go, according to Scotto.
Free agent Montrezl Harrell generally enjoyed playing with Charlotte this season and could return to the Hornets, depending upon the coaching hire. Harrell probably wouldn’t command more than the taxpayer mid-level on the open market, according to Scotto.
P.J. Washington, who is extension-eligible, is a movable piece and his name will pop up in trade rumors.

And-Ones: Coaching Candidates, Kirkwood, Garuba, Embiid

May 4th, 2022 at 11:39am CST by Luke Adams

Suns assistant Kevin Young, Bucks assistants Darvin Ham and Charles Lee, Celtics assistant Will Hardy, Grizzlies assistant Darko Rajakovic, Heat assistants Chris Quinn and Malik Allen, and Warriors assistants Mike Brown and Kenny Atkinson are among the assistants around the NBA who are viewed as potential head coaching candidates by league insiders, according to ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz (Insider-only link).

A number of the names on Arnovitz’s list have been linked to one or more of the NBA’s three current head coaching openings. Ham and Brown, for instance, all believed to be under consideration by all three of the Hornets, Lakers, and Kings.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Harvard senior guard Noah Kirkwood, who declared for the 2022 NBA draft as an early entrant, has decided to remain in the draft and go pro rather than using his final year of college eligibility, according to agent Ronnie Zeidel (Twitter link via Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports).
Rockets forward/center Usman Garuba said in an interview with Spanish outlet AS.com that he’s committed to representing Spain at this year’s EuroBasket competition, as Eurohoops relays.
In an intriguing bit of international basketball news, an RMC Sport report indicates that Sixers center Joel Embiid is exploring the possibility of obtaining French citizenship and representing France in future international events. Embiid was born in Cameroon, but has family from France and has never suited up for the Cameroonian national team.

Hornets Rumors: Jordan, Kupchak, Head Coach Candidates

May 3rd, 2022 at 12:00pm CST by Rory Maher

The decision to fire former Hornets head coach James Borrego apparently came from owner Michael Jordan, not president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. This contradicts a report last month that Kupchak was the driving force behind the move.

Sources tell Fischer that Jordan was unhappy with Charlotte’s poor defense, which fell from 16th in 2020/21 to 22nd this season. The Hornets also gave up 144 points to Indiana in last season’s play-in tournament and then 132 to Atlanta this season, both blowout losses.

The Hornets are in the early stages of their search to fill the coaching vacancy, Fischer writes. Kupchak has been mulling over candidates and is acting as though he’ll remain in charge of the team’s basketball operations even though his contract expires after the season, sources tell Fischer.

The team has discussed finding someone to eventually succeed Kupchak for years, but the Hornets want him to remain in place for at least the short term, assuming the two sides can work out their difference of opinion regarding salary, which sounds like a formality.

Prior to Adrian Wojnarowski’s report that the Hornets will interview Mike D’Antoni, Kenny Atkinson, Darvin Ham and Sean Sweeney for their head coaching job, Fischer explored some possible candidates, including D’Antoni and Atkinson.

Like the Kings, the Hornets are also searching for someone with previous head coaching experience. League sources tell Fischer that former Rockets head coach D’Antoni, Warriors assistants Mike Brown and Atkinson, and Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse are potential candidates for the opening. Brown holds previous head coaching experience with the Cavaliers and Lakers and is a finalist for Sacramento’s job, while Atkinson was Brooklyn’s lead coach from 2016-20.

Fischer notes that D’Antoni has frequently been linked to the Sixers since Daryl Morey became president of basketball operations, but the team has consistently maintained that head coach Doc Rivers and the front office are aligned on their shared vision of the future. Rivers still is still owed an additional $24MM over three years following this season, so even if Morey did want to fire him, that would be a bitter pill for Philadelphia’s ownership to swallow, Fischer observes.

Echoing a report from Marc Stein, Fischer says one more name to keep an eye on for the Hornets is Jazz coach Quin Snyder, who still has one year remaining on his contract with Utah. Synder previously worked under Kupchak’s front office as a Lakers assistant and has ties to North Carolina — he played for Duke in college and was an assistant coach there prior to becoming Missouri’s head coach.

Snyder has repeatedly been linked to the Lakers‘ opening, but several sources tell Fischer that L.A. doesn’t appeal to Utah’s head coach.

Hornets To Interview D’Antoni, Atkinson, Ham, Sweeney

May 3rd, 2022 at 10:46am CST by Rory Maher

The Hornets have begun the initial interview process for their head coaching vacancy, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter), who states that the team’s initial list includes former Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni, current Warriors assistant and former Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson, Bucks lead assistant Darvin Ham, and Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney.

As Wojnarowski observes (Twitter link), D’Antoni worked with Hornets president of basketball operations and general manager Mitch Kupchak while the two were with the Lakers, and they “had a good working relationship.” D’Antoni holds 16 seasons worth of head coaching experience with Denver, Phoenix, New York, Los Angeles and Houston, compiling a regular season record of 672-527.

The 70-year-old interviewed for the Kings’ head coaching job, but isn’t a finalist. D’Antoni is renowned for his offensive acumen and helped get the best from a couple of elite offensive players in Steve Nash and James Harden. Clearly, Charlotte thinks he might help with LaMelo Ball‘s development.

Atkinson was an assistant with the Knicks and Hawks prior to becoming Brooklyn’s head coach from 2016-20, where he compiled a 118-190 record. Those numbers are a bit deceiving, because he inherited a young, flawed roster that he helped lead to the playoffs in his third year at the helm. He has been an assistant with the Clippers and the Warriors the past two seasons.

Ham has been very busy recently. In addition to serving as Mike Budenholzer‘s top assistant with the Bucks as they try to defend their title, Ham has also interviewed for the lead coaching jobs in Sacramento and Los Angeles. Ham has been an NBA assistant for 11 years; he started with the Lakers for a couple seasons prior to working under Budenholzer in Atlanta and now Milwaukee.

Sweeney is in his ninth season as an assistant coach, having spent time with Brooklyn, Milwaukee, Detroit and now Dallas. He has worked under Mavs head coach Jason Kidd with the Nets, Bucks and Mavs.

Sweeney has been credited with leading the team’s defensive turnaround — after ranking 21st in defensive rating last season, Dallas was seventh this season. The Mavs went 3-1 with Sweeney serving as acting head coach when Kidd was in the health and safety protocols back in January.

Kings Not Retaining Alvin Gentry As Head Coach

April 11th, 2022 at 1:06pm CST by Luke Adams

1:06pm: The Kings have officially confirmed that Gentry won’t be back as the team’s head coach.

“The entire Kings organization is grateful for the leadership of Alvin Gentry, who stepped up when he got the call mid-season,” GM Monte McNair said in a statement. “We appreciate his leadership on and off the court.”

Although Gentry is out as head coach, he still may stick with the organization. Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that Gentry and the Kings are discussing a possible front office position, with a resolution expected later this week.

12:37pm: The Kings have informed Alvin Gentry that he’s no longer the team’s head coach, according to Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link), who report that Sacramento will immediately launch a “comprehensive” search for a new coach.

Gentry was named the Kings’ interim head coach just 17 games into the 2021/22 season following the ouster of Luke Walton. After starting 6-11 under Walton, the Kings were hopeful that Gentry could lead the team to at least a spot in the play-in tournament. However, Sacramento went just 24-41 the rest of the way and finished in the lottery for a 16th consecutive season.

Gentry, who has previous head coaching experience with the Heat, Pistons, Clippers, Suns, and Pelicans, previously stuck around following interim stints in Detroit and Phoenix to become those teams’ permanent head coaches, but that won’t happen in Sacramento. It appears he’ll be in the market for a new job this spring despite having spoken on Sunday about wanting to remain with the franchise.

“Obviously, I have a desire (to stay),” Gentry said, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. “I love it here and I think we’re on the right path. We’ve got some good pieces. We’ve got good people from our medical staff all the way up to the top. It has been done here before. It’s not something that’s impossible to do. It’s been done here before, so you just have to wait and see, but all of those things, I don’t make those decisions, so whatever happens, if it doesn’t work out, then I’ve had a great two years here. Love the people here. Love the franchise.”

The Kings, meanwhile, will conduct a wide-ranging search that includes candidates who have previously turned lottery teams into playoff clubs, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Marc Stein previously identified Terry Stotts, Mike D’Antoni, Mike Brown and Steve Clifford as names who have come up in coaching circles as possible targets for Sacramento. Wojnarowski confirms that Clifford and Brown are expected to be considered and adds Kenny Atkinson, Mark Jackson, and Bucks assistants Charles Lee and Darvin Ham to the list of potential candidates.

Rick Adelman was the last coach to take the Kings to the postseason, back in 2006. Since then, Sacramento has employed 11 different head coaches — the new hire will be the 12th.

COVID-19 Updates: G. Hill, Budenholzer, Warren, F. Jackson, More

January 13th, 2022 at 7:08pm CST by Rory Maher

The Bucks received good news today, as veteran George Hill and head coach Mike Budenholzer have both cleared the health and safety protocols, Eric Nehm of The Athletic reports (Twitter links).

However, the team did place one more player in the protocols: Langston Galloway. Galloway’s 10-day contract expires on Sunday night, so it’s possible he’ll no longer be a Buck by the time he exits the protocols.

Here are more COVID-related updates from around the NBA:

Pacers forward T.J. Warren has exited the protocols, James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star tweets. Unfortunately, Warren is still sidelined as he recovers from foot surgery.
Pistons guard Frank Jackson has exited the protocols but needs to wait a couple days to recondition. He might return Sunday against the Suns, Rod Beard of The Detroit News tweets.
Robert Woodard has entered the protocols for the Kings, according to James Ham of ESPN 1320 (Twitter link).
Heat forward Markieff Morris has exited the protocols but needs time to recondition, tweets Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Two-way rookie Ish Wainright has exited the protocols for the Suns, but is listed as questionable for Friday’s contest against Indiana due to reconditioning, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (via Twitter).
Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson has entered the protocols, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
Marcus Smart of the Celtics is listed as questionable for Friday’s game against Philadelphia due to the protocols, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link). Based on his status, Smart may have returned an inconclusive test, so we’ll have to wait for an update to see if he’ll actually be sidelined or not.

Pacific Notes: Holmes, Payton, Atkinson, Bridges

December 24th, 2021 at 2:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Kings center Richaun Holmes returned to Sacramento’s lineup on Wednesday night after missing seven games due to a right eye injury that required a surgical procedure. As Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee writes, Holmes described the injury as “a lot more serious than I originally thought” and suggested it may have a lasting impact on his game-day look going forward.

“I don’t think I’ll ever play a game without goggles, honestly, but the face mask, I’m going to kind of stay in touch with the doctors on that and see how they feel,” said Holmes, who wore protective eyewear and a face mask on Wednesday. “But I don’t think I’ll ever play another game without goggles after this experience.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

The Warriors are expected to guarantee Gary Payton II‘s $1.94MM salary for the 2021/22 season by hanging onto him beyond next month’s league-wide salary guarantee date, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated writes in a profile of the guard. Spears adds that there has “been talk” of Golden State signing Payton to a longer deal, but he’s not extension-eligible, so that would have to wait until he reaches unrestricted free agency during the 2022 offseason.
Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson, who had been away from the team due to a leg injury, returned to the front of the bench on Thursday night, as Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets.
Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic takes an in-depth look at how Suns forward Mikal Bridges has improved on the defensive end and become one of the best perimeter stoppers in the NBA. It looks more and more like the Suns got a bargain when they locked up Bridges to a four-year, $90MM extension prior to the 2021/22 season.

Stein’s Latest: Kings, M. Brown, Atkinson, Vogel, Wall

November 26th, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Before he became the controlling owner of the Kings, Vivek Ranadive was a minority stakeholder in the Warriors, and he still has a “stubborn fascination” with his old team, writes Marc Stein at Substack. According to Stein, there’s buzz in league circles that a pair of Warriors assistants – Mike Brown and Kenny Atkinson – will be among the candidates who receive consideration for the Kings’ head coaching job if the team doesn’t retain Alvin Gentry beyond this season.

Here’s more from Stein’s latest look around the league:

There’s “rising buzz” in NBA coaching circles that Lakers head coach Frank Vogel is facing increasing pressure with the team still sitting at .500 (10-10), says Stein. Earlier this week, we mentioned Vogel when we speculated about which head coaches could be the next to find themselves on the hot seat.
While John Wall may be getting a little frustrated with his situation in Houston, the veteran point guard consented to the possibility of the Rockets holding him out for the entire season. According to Stein, Wall signed off on the plan after being told he’d have a limited role in Houston’s backcourt if he were active, since the club is focused on developing young guards Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green.
As we relayed in a full story earlier this afternoon, Stein says Mavericks officials are expressing confidence about their chances of retaining Jalen Brunson beyond the 2021/22 season.