by 
Elsa/Getty Images
Kenny Atkinson isn’t going to Charlotte anyway.
The top assistant to the Golden State Warriors will stay with the team and will not become the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets after reportedly agreeing a four-year deal to take that position, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski†
Per Woj: “After being offered [the] job during the NBA Finals, further conversations led Atkinson to believe it would be best to stay with Warriors.”
Before Atkinson was offered the gig, Mike D’Antoni and Terry Stotts were the other finalists for the job, according to Woj†
Nick Carbonic †NickCarboniWCNC
no matter who #Hornets bringing in now — D’Antoni or else — what a strange situation to be in.
Dalton Johnson †DaltonJ_Johnson
Being close to Kenny Atkinson during one of the Warriors’ NBA Finals practice, he referred to coaching with Steve Kerr and living in the Bay Area as “paradise.”
This is clearly a huge turnaround for the Warriors and Hornets, but Atkinson clearly couldn’t be happier where he is https://t.co/zhD8XSk0WF
Atkinson, 55, served as an assistant to head coach Steve Kerr last season after serving as an assistant with the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2020-21 season.
Prior to that, he was the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets for four seasons, down just 118-190, but he helped rebuild the Nets and develop young talent, despite the team being deprived of valuable seed money given away in a notorious and skewed trade in 2013 with the Boston Celtics.
That rebuild led to a playoff berth in the 2018-19 season and helped pave the way for an organizational rebirth that led to the signing of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
Prior to Brooklyn, Atkinson served as an assistant for the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks.
His background as a rebuilder made him suitable for a team building of Hornets around the young star LaMelo Ball and a nice supporting cast. That group went 43-39 and made it to the play-in tournament, though they failed to earn a play-off spot.
Despite a third straight season of improvement, the Hornets chose to fire James Borrego, and it looked like they had their replacement in Atkinson.
Now it’s back to the drawing board when looking for coaching.
