The Nets didn’t waste any time in their coaching search, hiring Long Island native Kenny Atkinson just four days after the Hawks’ season ended. They’re set to introduce him Monday at the team’s new HSS Training Center in Brooklyn.
His success in turning around this dysfunctional franchise may rely not just on how good he is, but how patient they are.
Former Knicks coach turned commentator Jeff Van Gundy said as much when discussing Atkinson. He said the 48-year-old Huntington native’s biggest task may not be X’s and O’s, but convincing the players to stay together and the ownership to stay patient as the inevitable losses mount and the honeymoon period ends.