Shortly after their title won against the Celtics, the Warriors are still talking about them with their assistant coach, Kenny Atkinson. The former Nets was on track to become the new coach of the Hornets, under the leadership of Michael Jordan. Except that the interested party finally refused the position, which must have surprised people in North Carolina.
As the title is won for the Warriors, the franchise will celebrate for the next few days before taking some well-deserved rest. Next ? An important summer, and major issues to manage, including the extension of Jordan Poole. Steve Kerr also needs to prepare as he could lose assistants over the summer, including Kenny Atkinson. The latter was courted by the Hornets, but he refused the post of coach.
The refusal that hurts the Hornets very badly
However, and as we just had confirmation on Saturday, Atkinson did receive the job from Michael Jordan, who wanted a change of coach in North Carolina. The contract was even found… except that the former Nets coach finally said no. The franchise had however prepared to welcome it, in particular the members of the Hornets.
Kenny Atkinson had phoned all of Charlotte’s assistant coaches and planned to meet with all of the Hornets staff next week after arriving in town ahead of the NBA draft. Certainly an amazing turn of events.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 18, 2022
Kenny Atkinson has phoned all of Charlotte’s aides, and was scheduled to meet with staff members next week upon arriving in town ahead of the NBA draft. It’s definitely quite a twist.
All that was missing was Aktinson’s signature, who seemed open to taking the job and very involved. All the more reason to be surprised by this turnaround, which must displease Jordan and the entire organization. Indeed, the front office must now return to the search for a coach, which could last for weeks.
But then, what happened? According to Will Kunkel, the reason for this refusal is relatively simple:
I was told that Kenny Atkinson had changed his mind for family reasons.
Kenny hadn’t signed the contract. They did, however, agree to the terms of the contract.
The Hornets waited a few days to get the copy signed.— Will Kunkel (@WillKunkelFOX) June 18, 2022
I was told that Kenny Atkinson changed his mind for family reasons. Kenny did not sign a contract, but reached an agreement on the terms. The Hornets had been waiting a few days for the signed copies.
Kenny Atkinson will not be the next coach of the Hornets, after having nevertheless taken certain steps. What frustrate the world within the franchise, which must now turn to someone else. We imagine that it is annoying, especially before the start of the draft.