HOT TAKE: Nets Hire Hawks Assistant Coach as Head Coach

[jpotter33]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2633573-kenny-atkinson-to-nets-latest-contract-details-comments-and-reaction

This has to be good news for us right? Not a big/splashy name for head coach - maybe that means they're planning on selling off their assets and totally rebuilding?

The guy is Kenny Atkinson, and he's a Hawks assistant coach. They were just talking about him during the Cavs game, and I guess he's been around the league a long time. Still, it doesn't seem like the type of move the Nets have been making as of late. I'm wondering what their motive is behind this.

[saltlover]

I'm more hopeful for the immediate effect that this will hopefully cause some minor distraction in their preparation for Game 2 than it will indicate anything about the Nets future plans.

[alldaboston]

He's a solid coach from what I've read. Good on player development. Hopefully this means Marks and the rest of the nets are locked in on developing talent. And meaning better picks for us.

[jpotter33]

He's a solid coach from what I've read. Good on player development. Hopefully this means Marks and the rest of the nets are locked in on developing talent. And meaning better picks for us.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. He seems like a long-term hire. I'm guessing that they're looking to sell off Lopez and Young for younger assets to develop, and they hired a coach who is good at player development in pursuit of that.

[jpotter33]

http://nypost.com/2016/04/17/phil-jackson-talked-with-luke-walton-about-knicks-job/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=site%20buttons&utm_campaign=site%20buttons

So Luke Walton withdrew his name after interviewing with the Nets. Yeah, I would think these are all signals that they're looking to tear down and rebuild the proper way. Wow. Great news.

[Rondo9]

Sounds like Lopez and Young will most likely be on the trading block this summer.

[hwangjini_1]

if, if, if, IF all goes close to perfectly and the celtics get 2-3 picks in the 1-3 range, ainge's trade with the nets may go down as as good as red's trade to get parish and mchale.

this is turning into a real heist. thank you danny!!

[tankcity!]

Sounds like Lopez and Young will most likely be on the trading block this summer.

We don't know this. They could try to build like the Hawks and sign shooters around those two.

[greece66]

From what I've read/know the new coach is legit but ofc he is also an untested rookie.

Not sure what this means in terms of the future of the team.

The Nets are in a messy situation:

-It is very unlikely that they will be able to land high quality FAs : they have a mediocre front office and ownership and an overall bad reputation in the League + if an FA really wants to play in NYC the natural move is to go to the Knicks where you have Melo, Porzingis and Phil Jackson.

-They have a core of good players but they are ageing + they are not enough to compete for a playoff seed in the loaded East. If anything, some of the teams that stayed out of the playoffs last season will be better next season (I expect this to be the case for MIL and maybe Philly and Washington too).

-And ofc they do not have the key asset to rebuilding, aka draft picks

My reading of the hiring of the new coach is that they might have accepted that their fate is most likely to be out of playoff contention for the next couple of seasons and enter rebuild mode anyway; hence give an opportunity to an untested yet promising coach. (And in any case I do not think that Thibs or Brooks would accept working for the Nets in their current mess.)

It will be interesting anyway to see what the Nets next moves will be.

[SCeltic34]

Sounds like Lopez and Young will most likely be on the trading block this summer.

Young maybe, but from the sounds of early reports Lopez will be sticking around.

http://nypost.com/2016/04/06/brook-lopez-on-nets-future-new-gm-and-i-are-on-same-page/

But Lopez has spoken with new general manager Sean Marks, and will do so again at more length. Lopez, 28, insisted he has no regrets about re-signing with the club, and Marks reassured the star center he plans to use him as a building block, not a trade chip.

“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,’’ said Lopez, who spoke with Marks before last Tuesday’s game in Orlando and was told he would be shut down for the rest of the season.