Walton Inverviewed For Nets Job
Warriors assistant Luke Walton has already interviewed for head coaching positions with the Knicks and Nets, reports Marc Berman of The New York Post. Walton pulled his name out of consideration with Brooklyn, which announced the hiring of Kenny Atkinson earlier today. Golden State is reportedly allowing Walton to talk to other franchises as long as there’s no conflict with its playoff schedule. A source told Berman that Walton may decide to remain with the Warriors for another season.
Nets Hire Kenny Atkinson As Coach
The Nets have hired Kenny Atkinson as their new head coach, the team announced via press release and as Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported minutes before the announcement. Atkinson is currently an assistant for the Hawks.
The two sides came to an agreement over the weekend after weeks of discussions, Wojnarowski writes. Atkinson is expected to stay with Atlanta throughout the Hawks’ playoff run, the Nets said. Atkinson is highly regarded as one of the league’s best assistants and has been Mike Budenholzer’s top assistant coach for the past two years. Atkinson has been with the Hawks for a total of four seasons.
Prior to joining Atlanta, Atkinson was an assistant coach for four seasons with the Knicks (2008-2012), helping the team reach the postseason in 2011 and 2012. Atkinson also spent one season as the director of player development for the Rockets (2007-2008).
“We are thrilled to announce Kenny Atkinson as our new head coach and to welcome him and his family to Brooklyn,” said Nets GM Sean Marks in a press release. “Kenny’s years of NBA coaching experience working under successful head coaches such as Mike Budenholzer and Mike D’Antoni have provided him with the foundation and experience we were looking for in a head coach. We believe that Kenny’s core principles, leadership, communication skills and exceptional background in player development make him an ideal fit for the culture we are building in Brooklyn.”
It is worth mentioning that Marks and Atkinson share the same agent. Tony Brown was Brooklyn’s head coach on an interim basis, but he never seemed like a front-runner to secure the job beyond this past season and his future with the team is not yet clear. The Nets fired Lionel Hollins in early January on the same day they reassigned former GM Billy King. Brooklyn finished 21-61 this season.
Several high-profile names were linked to the Nets’ coaching job. Brett Brown, who reportedly isn’t assured of keeping his job with the Sixers, along with Luke Walton, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy, Vinny Del Negro and Bucks assistant Sean Sweeney, were all reportedly in the mix for the Nets. Spurs assistant Ime Udoka was believed to be a leading candidate.
The decision to go with Atkinson is not a splashy one, and that is a different than moves the Nets have made in the past, as Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post tweets. Several members of the media, such as Frank Isola of the New York Daily News and Howard Beck of Bleacher Report, commended the Nets on their hire (Twitter links). Both scribes pointed to Atkinson’s work with Jeremy Lin while the coach and player were in New York together.
Atkinson is the first of several new coaching hires to take place across the league in the coming months. The Wolves dismissed interim coach Sam Mitchell, the Wizards fired Randy Wittman and the Kings parted ways with George Karl. The fate of Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff has yet to be decided. The Suns still need to make a decision regarding Earl Watson. The fate of Lakers coach Byron Scott remains up in the air as the team holds an option on his contract for next season. Knicks interim coach Kurt Rambis is expected to be interviewed for New York’s head coaching slot.
Nets Name Ronald Nored D-League Coach
- The Nets have named Ronald Nored as head coach of the team’s new NBA D-League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, the team announced. Nored played under Celtics coach Brad Stevens at Butler and later served as a Celtics assistant coach under Stevens. The D-League team begins play next season. “We are excited to welcome Ronald as head coach of the Long Island Nets,” said GM Sean Marks. “Ronald is a bright young mind in our game whose experience under Brad Stevens as both a player and a coach, as well as his ability to connect with today’s players, have prepared him for this role. His commitment to player development, along with his enthusiasm and passion for the game, are aligned with the vision we have for both the Brooklyn and Long Island Nets.”
Marks Starts Fines For Lateness
- Sean Marks started fining players for showing up late after taking over as Nets GM, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Several players confirmed to Lewis that frequent lateness was a problem with the team.
Kings Eye McMillan, Ewing, McHale, Blatt, Others
1:27pm: McHale appears unlikely to take the Kings job, and Del Negro is the most realistic candidate, Mannix suggests.
THURSDAY, 1:02pm: Nate McMillan is also in the mix, sources told Stein (Twitter link).
10:15pm: The possibility of hiring McHale is gaining traction within the Kings organization, Chris Mannix of The Vertical tweets. Sacramento is intrigued by the possibility of McHale working with DeMarcus Cousins, Mannix adds.
3:09pm: The Kings are also considering Patrick Ewing, league sources tell Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee.
12:40pm: Kevin McHale and Mark Jackson are also under consideration, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The Kings do have strong interest in Thibodeau and Brooks but acknowledge they’ll be tough gets, Stein adds. McHale is just a few months removed from having been fired by the Rockets, while Jackson last coached in 2013/14 with the Warriors.
WEDNESDAY, 11:53am: The Kings, poised to fire George Karl, will consider a group of candidates that includes David Blatt, Vinny Del Negro, Jeff Hornacek, Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga and Hawks assistant Kenny Atkinson, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Jeff Van Gundy, Tom Thibodeau and Scott Brooks, who frequently draw mention as top NBA coaching candidates, are uninterested in the job, as Wojnarowski hears from league sources.
Blatt, whom the Cavs fired as their head coach in January, is also reportedly under consideration from the Knicks, though he’s reportedly a long shot for that job. The Nets have reportedly been eyeing him as well, and he has ties to the Brooklyn organization, having coached the Russian national team, which received significant financial backing from Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov.
Sacramento reportedly contacted Del Negro about its head coaching job in December 2014, when the team fired Michael Malone. Del Negro, a former Kings player, hasn’t coached in the NBA since the 2012/13 season with the Clippers, but Wojnarowski reported that he interviewed for the Pelicans job last summer.
Chatter about Hornacek has been quiet since the Suns fired him in February, though he earned respect around the league when he led Phoenix to a 48-34 record in what was supposed to be a rebuilding season during his first year as an NBA head coach. The Suns have regressed since then, and Hornacek wound up 101-112 overall in Phoenix. He was an assistant under former Kings coach Tyrone Corbin on the Jazz.
Wojnarowski wrote in February that Larranaga and Atkinson weren’t particularly eager to land the Kings job if it were to open. The assistants both reportedly interviewed for the Sixers job three years ago and have drawn frequent mention as a possible NBA head coaching candidate since. Larranaga was reportedly a contender for the recent opening at Georgia Tech that Josh Pastner ultimately filled.
Russian Authorities Investigate Prokhorov Firm
Russian law enforcement and tax officials are searching the Moscow offices of Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov’s company, ONEXIM, reports Yuliya Fedorinova of Bloomberg.com. It’s not entirely clear why the search is taking place, though the Russian wire service Interfax reports the search has to do with offshore investment and tax payments and is part of a criminal proceeding, according to NetsDaily (Twitter link). Prokhorov ran against Russian president Vladimir Putin in 2012, and Putin is applying political pressure on offshore investors, as Fedorinova details. The ONEXIM under investigation isn’t the same as the holding company that controls the Nets, as NetsDaily points out.
Ime Udoka Leading Candidate For Nets Job?
10:59am: Sources tell NetsDaily they believe Udoka is the leading candidate. It appears the team is poised to formally cut ties with Tony Brown and his assistant coaches as well as several long-time staffers as Marks plans to hire as many as 10 new staff members, NetsDaily also hears (All Twitter links).
8:25am: Brett Brown, who reportedly isn’t assured of keeping his job with the Sixers, along with Luke Walton, Mark Jackson, Vinny Del Negro and Bucks assistant Sean Sweeney are also in the mix for the Nets job, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post. The prospect of Brown having the interim tag removed and staying in the head coaching job is no more than a long shot, Lewis adds. Lewis also suggests the Nets still have Mike Conley atop their list of free agent targets.
4:01pm: Hawks assistant Kenny Atkinson has been mentioned as a possibility for the Nets’ coaching vacancy, and he and Marks share the same agent, Mazzeo tweets.
3:00pm: The increasing belief in coaching circles is that neither Tom Thibodeau nor David Blatt will be a candidate for the job, but the search is only just beginning, writes Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com.
12:47pm: The Nets have interest in NBA coaching veteran Jeff Van Gundy and Spurs assistants Ettore Messina and Ime Udoka for their head coaching job, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Tony Brown is Brooklyn’s head coach on an interim basis, though it’s unclear whether he’ll have a legitimate shot to remain in the position for next season.
Van Gundy’s name frequently comes up in connection to NBA coaching jobs even though he hasn’t coached an NBA team since the 2006/07 season, his last with the Rockets. Frank Isola of the New York Daily News speculated shortly before the team hired GM Sean Marks in February that Messina would become a candidate if the team indeed brought aboard Marks, who was then serving as a Spurs executive. Marks’ tie to the Spurs also explains the interest in Udoka, who was key to the recruitment of former teammate LaMarcus Aldridge this past summer. Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has often talked about attracting stars to Brooklyn, and the team has no shortage of cap flexibility for the summer ahead.
Many New York fans still have fond memories of Van Gundy from his time as coach of the crosstown Knicks from 1996-2001, and he’s maintained a high profile as a broadcaster for ABC and ESPN. He reportedly interviewed for the Pelicans head coaching vacancy last year.
Messina has worked for Prokhorov before, when Prokhorov was the owner of CSKA Moscow and Messina was leading the team to two Euroleague championships as head coach. The Spurs hired Messina as an assistant two years ago, and he also served as a coaching consultant for the Lakers in 2011/12, but much of his reputation comes from overseas, where he was one of the most successful coaches in Euroleague history. The Thunder reportedly made him a candidate for their head coaching job a year ago.
Udoka is a veteran of eight NBA seasons as a player, and his last playing contract was with the Nets, who signed him in the 2011 preseason and cut him before opening night. The Spurs hired him as an assistant coach the following summer.
Tony Brown Unlikely To Keep Coaching Job
- Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Nets interim coach Tony Brown are unlikely to have their interim tags removed, barring unforeseen events, according to Berger. Rockets candidate Scott Brooks is wary of the uncertainty about whether Dwight Howard will opt out, Berger writes, which suggests that it’s not an open-and-shut case that Howard will opt out as he’s long been expected to do.
[SOURCE LINK]
Tony Brown Not Stressed Over Future
The Nets have gone 11-33 under interim coach Tony Brown, who understands that he is coaching for his job but asserts that he is unfazed by the pressure involved, Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily relays. “I feel like the situation has been tough from the beginning,” Brown said. “I’ve tried to make the best of it, and I’m going to continue to do that the last two games and whatever happens, happens. I’m not worried about my fate with this organization. I’m just trying to give these guys a great opportunity to showcase their skills, and I’m going to continue to do that.”
Brook Lopez Told He Is Building Block, Not Trade Chip
- Nets center Brook Lopez believes he and GM Sean Marks are on the same page, and Marks informed Lopez that he sees him as a building block and not as a trade chip, Brian Lewis of The New York Post writes. “He has talked to me, and we both definitely want to be here and see things happen here and help the team grow going forward,’’ Lopez said.