The Charlotte Hornets will have to resume their search for a head coach after Kenny Atkinson changes his mind and will no longer take the job, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. Instead, Atkinson will remain with the Golden State Warriors as head assistant coach to Steve Kerr.
Atkinson, who has gone through numerous interviews with the Hornets over the past few weeks, has agreed to a four-year contract with the team to become their new head coach on June 18. The Hornets, who sacked James Borego after four seasons largely because of his inability to hold the team responsible on defense, hoped Atkinson could improve the team on this side of the ball.
At this point, it is unclear why Atkinson decided to reverse the course and stay with the Warriors. According to Voinarovski, this happened after “further talks”, but this is rather unclear. Atkinson and the Warriors, of course, won the title earlier this week after beating the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals. It could be as simple as Atkinson wanting to stay in the Gulf Area where he can compete. for titles, to train some of the best players of this generation and work for a top organization.
Please check the checkbox to confirm that you want to subscribe.
Thank you for registering!
Keep an eye on your inbox.
I’m sorry!
There was an error processing your subscription.
In any case, the Hornets will have to return to the drawing board, which is not ideal, as the NBA 2022 draft is only a few days away, and the free agency starts shortly after. Before deciding on Atkinson, the Hornets had brought in Mike D’Antoni and Terry Stots, each of whom was considered finalists for the job. They could go back and choose between one of the two, but after firing Borego due to defense problems, it would be strange to hire another offensive coach like D’Antoni or the Hundreds.
The Hornets finished 43-39 last season, finishing over .500 for the first time since the 2015-16 season. However, that record was good enough for only 10th place in the Eastern Conference, and the Hornets were destroyed by the Atlanta Hawks in the playoffs. A second embarrassing loss in the playoffs also played a role in leaving Borrego.
With people like LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges (assuming he re-signs) and Terry Rosier, there are a lot of young talent on this Hornets team, which should make it a tempting job. If the Hornets want to expand demand beyond D’Antoni and Stots, there will be no shortage of candidates.
Add Comment