Warriors clear Atkinson to interview for Bucks’ head coaching job: report
Kenny Atkinson has spent the last two years on Steve Kerr's staff with
Warriors
>BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JUNE 16: Assistant coach Kenny Atkinson of the
Golden State Warriors reacts against the Boston Celtics during the first
quarter in Game Six of the 2022 NBA Finals at TD Garden on June 16, 2022
in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
By MICHAEL NOWELS | mnowels@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: May 10, 2023 at 1:29 p.m. | UPDATED: May 10, 2023 at 7:16 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2023/05/10/warriors-clear-atkinson-to-interview-for-bucks-head-coaching-job-report/

A month after being in the coaching candidate pool to turn around a
downtrodden franchise, Kenny Atkinson is among the targets for a team on
the other end of the winning spectrum.

The Warriors’ assistant is in the running for the Milwaukee Bucks’ top
job, according to a report Wednesday from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Atkinson, who has spent the last two seasons on Steve Kerr’s staff, was
listed among the candidates for the Houston Rockets’ vacancy before
ex-Celtics coach Ime Udoka was named to the job late last month.

The Bucks fired coach Mike Budenholzer this month, just two years after
he helped lead the team to a title. Milwaukee, the NBA’s top
regular-season team, crashed out of the playoffs in the first round,
losing in five games to the eighth-seeded Heat. Atkinson was an
assistant on Budenholzer’s staff in Atlanta from 2013-2016.

If Atkinson were to be hired, he would inherit championship expectations
in Milwaukee along with a roster featuring two-time MVP Giannis
Antetokounmpo, though Bucks starters Brook Lopez (unrestricted free
agent) and Khris Middleton (player option) could be gone next season.

Kerr has lauded Atkinson as a liaison between himself and the Warriors’
analytics staff, finding ways to use statistical information to create
on-court advantages.

“He’s got a great way of connecting the analytics with the tape and with
the strategy, and that makes for really good conversation,” Kerr said of
Atkinson on Wednesday at Chase Center before Game 5 of the
Warriors-Lakers series. “It was one of the reasons I brought him here. I
wanted to improve that part of our operation.”

Other reported candidates for the Bucks’ job include current Milwaukee
assistant Charles Lee and former Charlotte Hornets coach James Borrego,
and The Athletic reported that the Bucks are considering candidates
currently employed as head coaches elsewhere in the NBA.

During the NBA Finals last year, Atkinson reportedly agreed to leave the
Warriors and become Charlotte’s head coach, but after the Warriors won
the title, Atkinson reversed course to stay with Golden State.

Prior to his time with the Warriors, Atkinson was the head coach of the
Brooklyn Nets from 2016-2020.

He helped build that team from a club suffering in the wake of the
future-mortgaging 2013 trade for the aging Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce
into a scrappy playoff group. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving deemed that
growth worthy of their interest when they moved to Brooklyn in 2019 free
agency, but after a 28-34 start to the next season that included some
Irving and no Durant, the Nets moved on from Atkinson.

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He spent one year on the Clippers’ bench between his Brooklyn stint and
joining Kerr’s staff.

“He’s great on the court,” Kerr said. “He really started his coaching
career working players out, so he loves to be on the court with players.
He’s a great guy for development and how to develop players. And as a
head coach, his teams played with great energy and chemistry, and you
can feel that coming from him. He’s got a lot of passion for the game
and he works like crazy, so he’s been a great assistant for us.

“I love having him here. We’re happy for him that he’s getting some
interviews out there and we’ll see how it plays out. But if not, we’ll
be excited to have him back.”

Even with Atkinson’s about-face last summer, the Warriors lost a major
assistant coach from the title-winning staff in Mike Brown, who led the
Kings to a playoff berth this season.

>Golden State Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson gives
instructions to his players in the third quarter of Game 1 of the
Western Conference semifinals at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif.,
on Tuesday, May 2, 2023. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

--
Michael Nowels | Assistant sports editor
Mike Nowels is an assistant sports editor for The Mercury News and East
Bay Times. He has roots in Colorado and Arizona and joined the Bay Area
News Group in March 2019. He is a graduate of the University of Northern
Colorado with a BA in elementary education and minors in teaching
English as a second language and sociology. He holds a MA from Arizona
State's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Allen wrote:
> Warriors clear Atkinson to interview for Bucks’ head coaching job: report
> Kenny Atkinson has spent the last two years on Steve Kerr's staff with
> Warriors
> >BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JUNE 16: Assistant coach Kenny Atkinson of the
> Golden State Warriors reacts against the Boston Celtics during the first
> quarter in Game Six of the 2022 NBA Finals at TD Garden on June 16, 2022
> in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
> By MICHAEL NOWELS | mnowels@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
> PUBLISHED: May 10, 2023 at 1:29 p.m. | UPDATED: May 10, 2023 at 7:16 p.m.
> https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2023/05/10/warriors-clear-atkinson-to-interview-for-bucks-head-coaching-job-report/
>
>
>
> A month after being in the coaching candidate pool to turn around a
> downtrodden franchise, Kenny Atkinson is among the targets for a team on
> the other end of the winning spectrum.
>
> The Warriors’ assistant is in the running for the Milwaukee Bucks’ top
> job, according to a report Wednesday from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
>
> Atkinson, who has spent the last two seasons on Steve Kerr’s staff, was
> listed among the candidates for the Houston Rockets’ vacancy before
> ex-Celtics coach Ime Udoka was named to the job late last month.
>
>

I hate that the Warriors keep losing coaches to other teams.

--Robin

Robin Miller wrote:
>>
>
> I hate that the Warriors keep losing coaches to other teams.

I do, too, but that's one of the marks of a successful organization.

Smith

NFN Smith wrote:
> Robin Miller wrote:
>>>
>>
>> I hate that the Warriors keep losing coaches to other teams.
>
> I do, too, but that's one of the marks of a successful organization.
>
> Smith
>

Yes, true ...

--Robin