Kenny Atkinson to Nets: Latest Contract Details, Comments and Reaction

The Brooklyn Nets hired Kenny Atkinson to be their head coach after reaching an agreement on April 17.

Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical first reported that Atkinson and the Nets had agreed to terms on a multiyear contract and that general manager Sean Marks had "long targeted Atkinson for the job."

Bleacher Report's Howard Beck tweeted an official announcement from the Nets:

The Nets will officially introduce Atkinson on Monday, per Beck.

Atkinson was on the Atlanta Hawks coaching staff as an assistant under Mike Budenholzer. Before his stint with Atlanta, which began in 2012, Atkinson started his NBA coaching career as an assistant for the New York Knicks from 2008 to 2012.

Since then, Brooklyn has experienced extreme turbulence at head coach, going through three different full-time options in Avery Johnson, Jason Kidd and Lionel Hollins, who was fired in January.

Budenholzer discussed Atkinson's hiring in a statement, via Sean Highkin of Bleacher Report: 

"

I'm very happy for Kenny and excited that he's earned the opportunity to be a head coach. His competitiveness, knowledge and feel for the game, and passion for player development are all at a high level and will serve him well as a head coach. With him and Sean in place, the Nets have a very strong foundation to build on.

"

Chris Mannix of The Vertical noted how viable he'd heard Atkinson was as a head coaching candidate, mentioning the praise he's gotten from Hawks big man Al Horford:

Horford spoke glowingly about how Atkinson—who was also the director of player development for the Houston Rockets for the 2007-08 season—implored him to be a better player, per a March 2015 report by ESPN.com's Kevin Arnovitz:

"

He believes you can improve as a player, even at the highest level, and that there's always something you can add to your game. ... Before he got here, I was pretty much a shooter on the pick-and-pop. I was never really driving. Kenny has challenged me to put the ball on the floor. It's something we've worked on together, and now it's something I feel comfortable doing.

"

The hope is Atkinson can bring some much-needed stability to the key leadership position. He will take over for interim coach Tony Brown.

Wojnarowski reported on April 30 former Orlando Magic coach Jacque Vaughn will be one of Atkinson's assistants.

Beck highlighted Atkinson's diverse coaching background, which should give him a well-rounded perspective on how to run his own team:

Atkinson was a point guard who led Richmond to the Sweet 16 in 1988 and played professionally overseas for the most part, per NBA.com.

Brooklyn is a tough job to take over. It's in a major media market, and the team is attempting to rebuild after a misguided, win-now effort went horribly awry. Part of the fiasco resulted in the Nets losing out on their 2016 lottery draft pick, which will go to the Boston Celtics.

The Nets fanbase will have to be patient with Atkinson as he attempts to establish himself. It's an ambitious rebuilding project, but Atkinson has a good reputation in terms of player development, which bodes well for him at the onset of this challenging endeavor.