Nets' DeAndre Jordan Denies 'Bulls--t' Reports After Kenny Atkinson Firing
According to Brooklyn Nets veteran big man DeAndre Jordan, you are wrong if you think the organization's firing of head coach Kenny Atkinson was caused, in any way, by him, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant arriving in Brooklyn during free agency last summer.
"I think whatever you're saying and whatever the reports are are bulls--t," Jordan told reporters after the Nets' 110-107 win over the visiting Chicago Bulls on Sunday.
Jordan added: "Yeah, I'm close to Kyrie, but Wilson [Chandler] is a new player, Garrett Temple's a new player. We're all new players, so if you're going to say new players, put it on all eight of the new players."
The Nets announced they and Atkinson had "mutually agreed to part ways" on Saturday with Jacque Vaughn serving as interim head coach for the remainder of the 2019-20 NBA season.
"Irving soured on Atkinson early, league sources told Yahoo Sports, and currently prefers Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue to be the team's next head coach," Yahoo Sports' Vincent Goodwill reported Saturday. "Lue was the head coach in Cleveland when Irving hit the winning shot in the 2016 NBA Finals and was in talks to take the Lakers job before discussions broke down."
Goodwill also noted that, according to an unnamed source, Atkinson "pushed for the parting just as much, if not more" than the Nets.
Nets general manager Sean Marks offered insight into the decision during a press conference:
"I would have loved Kenny to be here long term. I think we all have ideas that this is going to last forever, and we'll keep building this together. We had a great run for four years. We enjoyed each other, I think we grew immensely. He grew as a coach, hopefully I've grown as a GM and so forth. We made plenty of mistakes, and we had fun along the way.
"These are the circumstances. The position we find ourselves in now is, 'What helps us get it to the next level?' And I think what we debated and what we deliberated on was this was a time where the team needs another voice, and that's where we are at."
Atkinson went 118-190 since taking over in Brooklyn prior to the 2016-17 season. His best campaign came when he led a scrappy Nets squad paced by the since-departed D'Angelo Russell to a 42-40 record and the franchise's first playoff berth in four years.
ESPN's Jackie MacMullan wrote an in-depth story about how the Nets landed Durant, Irving and Jordan, and it included this excerpt about Atkinson:
"Potential free agents took new notice of the rooftop lounge with a breathtaking view of the New York skyline. Atkinson's reputation as a players' coach blossomed. Word was he wouldn't just ask his players to take a charge, he'd actually demonstrate it in practice, absorbing contact from a 6-foot-10, 280-pound big man to prove his point.
"Durant spent hours researching Marks, both as a player and a front-office apprentice in San Antonio and Miami. He was blown away by the attention to detail and the commitment to player-first directives. Jordan queried vets like Jared Dudley about their experiences in Brooklyn."
"I was definitely shocked. I thought Kenny did a great job with us," Jordan said Sunday. "I thought Kenny did a great job with us. This is my first year with him obviously, and they guys who had been here love him, so I'm sure it's tough for them."
The crux of the Nets' disappointing 29-34 season has had nothing to do with Atkinson. Irving appeared in just 20 games before a shoulder injury forced him to undergo surgery in late February, and he was officially shut him down until next season. Furthermore, Durant has been out since rupturing his Achilles in the 2019 NBA Finals as a member of the Golden State Warriors.
It would make sense for the Nets to desire a reset with new leadership to take full advantage of a healthy Durant- and Irving-led roster in 2020-21, regardless of the reasoning behind the move.
