The Brooklyn Nets are close to qualifying for the NBA playoffs this season (although they are less than .500) and have stars Kyrie Irving (shoulder) and Kevin Durant (achilles) expected to return in full health in 2020-21.
But head coach Kenny Atkinson will no longer be in charge. The Nets and Atkinson “agreed to separate” in the middle of the fourth season of the partnership, the team announced on Saturday.
“After discussions with Kenny over the course of the season, we have mutually agreed that a change of coach would be in the best interest of the team,” said general manager Sean Marks in a statement. “It was an extremely difficult decision, but the organization believes it is a necessary decision at this time.”
Assistant Jacque Vaughn will coach the rest of the season, through the team.
In 2016, Atkinson inherited a talentless organization due to the lack of first-round picks over the years. These first teams combined 48-116, before last year’s team made the playoffs with a record of 42-40 before going out in the first round.
The Nets were one of the winners of last year’s successful free agency, signing both Durant, who will not play this season as he recovers, and Irving, who has been limited to 20 games due to a shoulder injury that disrupted him for much of the season.
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“Kenny has been instrumental in the development of our players and in building the identity and culture for which we have been known for the past four seasons,” said Marks in the release. “The foundation he helped set up here is the foundation we will continue to build on in the coming seasons. We are eternally grateful for all of Kenny’s hard work and dedication to the Nets and the Brooklyn community Kenny, Laura and the Atkinson family will always be a part of our Nets family and we wish them only the best in the future. ”
Atkinson has had a long playing career abroad. He first joined an NBA bench as an assistant in 2008 with the New York Knicks and remained there until 2012 before serving as an assistant for the Atlanta Hawks from 2012 to 2016.
The Nets are currently 28-34 and have a half-game lead over the Orlando Magic for No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference.