Kyle Korver and Kenny Atkinson met for coffee in the summer of 2013.
Korver was an unrestricted free agent and there were big questions facing the Hawks in that offseason. The roster was about to undergo a major change with more than half the players free agents. A head coaching change was imminent. The assistant staff would be reconstructed with a new leader.
Atkinson told Korver he was going to stay on as an assistant coach.
“I didn’t know if I was coming back,” Korver said Monday. “That is something as a free agent, you don’t know what the team is going to be, what the coaching staff was going to look like. But he said he was going to be back. And that was a starting place for me. Kenny is going to be here? Things are going to be OK.”
Korver re-signed with the Hawks. Atkinson was the one assistant holdover when the team hired Mike Budenholzer as head coach to replace Larry Drew. Their four-year run will end after the postseason. Atkinson was hired as head coach of the Nets on Sunday. He will remain with the Hawks through the playoffs before moving back to his home state of New York and get started on a reclamation project. Atkinson will bring his player development background with him.
Atkinson was an assistant coach with the Knicks for four years before joining the Hawks. He also served as the director of player development for the Rockets.
Word around the NBA was that the Hawks got a steal in luring Atkinson from the Knicks as he was one of the first additions when Danny Ferry took over as general manager. Knick owner James Dolan was not happy Atkinson got away.
“He has been awesome for us here in Atlanta,” Korver said. “I think our player development has been second to none the last four years. I think it has been amazing watching guys develop and grow and Kenny leads that.”
The Hawks did not make Atkinson available to the media on Monday, honoring a request from the Nets that he not speak until he is formally introduced in Brooklyn following the Hawks’ postseason run.
Budenholzer said there are no immediate plan on who will replace Atkinson as lead assistant. Atkinson joins Quin Snyder as lead assistants under Budenholzer to go on to head coaching jobs in the NBA in the past three years. Snyder joined the Jazz two seasons ago.
“I think it says a lot about Kenny,” Budenholzer said. “He has helped make our program to be what it is. Very happy for him and his family. I think it is a well-deserved opportunity. Knowing Kenny well, he has been a great friend and assistant. (New Nets general manager) Sean Marks is the same, a great friend. I think together those two guys are taking the right steps to build a winning program and winning culture in Brooklyn.”
Jeff Teague and Kent Bazemore both credited Atkinson with helping them succeed in the pick-and-roll game that has become a staple of NBA offenses.
“He is someone who knows the game inside and out,” Teague said. “Someone that loves the game. He really loves basketball. He is always in the gym, first one here every day. He wants someone to win. He is going to bring a different culture to Brooklyn. They are lucky to get a guy like him.”
