Ranking the New Orleans Pelicans and other NBA Coaching Vacancies
Ranking the NBA Coaching Vacancies: Brooklyn Nets
No. 2: Brooklyn Nets
Team and Talent
The Nets might have the best combination of established and young talent in the league with veterans Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving matched with guys like Caris LeVert and Taurean Waller-Prince.
They will likely lose Joe Harris in the offseason, but he’ll be replaced by some guy called Kevin Durant, who should be 100% and ready to go. But will he be?
The biggest question marks surrounding the Nets involve health, as both Irving and Durant will be coming back off injuries.
The Nets were a playoff team and will be adding two superstars, so they have title aspirations next season, but they will need to be healthy and that is far from a given.
Ownership and Front Office
Joseph Tsai is smart and rich, so he has a lot more to offer as a controlling owner than Mikhail Prokhorov, who is just rich. Prokhorov proved that it takes more than Russian oligarch money to run a basketball team, as he was terrible at it.
Tsai won’t be, so the Nets’ fans should be happy about their ownership situation, though firing Kenny Atkinson was a head scratcher. This has “Kyrie didn’t like him” written all over it because Atkinson was a great coach who got the most out of his roster and had them in the playoffs even with all the injuries.
This would concern me if I were the next coach, as fickly owners who fire coaches on a whim probably aren’t that great to work for and the teams end up being inconsistent. The Nets may regret firing Atkinson, especially if he is successful in his next job while the new Nets’ coach struggles.
The City
Where Brooklyn at? The home of hip hop and hipsters is one of the best places to work, they have a great arena, solid fan base and all the trappings of New York without having to be the Knicks.
There is little pressure on the Nets, as most of New York’s anger is focused on the Knickerbockers. Players seem to want to live on the coasts, so the Nets’ job will always be coveted.
The Verdict
Other than the fact the team just fired a successful coach for seemingly no reason, this is a great job in a great city. You have a combination of veteran stars and youth, a smart owner and good fans. My only concern would be Mr. Irving, who seems to butt heads everywhere he goes and is a known coach killer.