According to a report, there is strong support for former Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson inside the New York Knicks organization.
Despite Tom Thibodeau emerging as the frontrunner for the vacant New York Knicks head coaching gig, there remains strong support within the organization to scoop up former Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson, according to Ian Begley of SNY.
Atkinson has remained firmly in the head coaching search along with Mike Woodson and Mike Miller, but the three are still considered to be playing catch-up to Thibodeau.
After bringing the Nets back to relevancy and molding players like Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie into valuable rotation pieces, the Nets mutually agreed to part ways with the development-driven coach just before the NBA suspended play. The reasoning is rumored to have been a tense relationship between Atkinson and a few of Brooklyn’s veteran newcomers.
Atkinson may have butted heads with the veterans, but on the Knicks, he would be entering the fray in a much similar situation as he did in Brooklyn. A franchise in need of developing a young group into a respectable rotation could be kickstarted by Atkinson’s coaching style.
New York would certainly benefit from a developmentally-minded head coach. However, based on many earlier reports, it will take an army to dethrone Thibodeau as the favorite. As long as Thibs remains interested in the job opportunity, it seems likely that he lands the gig.
With that said, it would be unwise to completely rule out Atkinson from the running.
