Kenny Atkinson has decided to turn down the offer to become the new head coach of the Charlotte Hornets. Instead, he will remain with the Golden State Warriors as a top assistant.
This is what Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports, noting that Kenny Atkinson believes it will be better to remain with Golden State instead of moving to Charlotte. The two sides had agreed in principle to a four-year deal during the NBA Finals.
ESPN Sources: Kenny Atkinson has decided he won’t become the Charlotte Hornets’ head coach and will remain with Golden State as top assistant. After being offered job during the NBA Finals, further conversations led Atkinson to believe it would be best to remain with Warriors.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 18, 2022
Atkinson joined the Warriors’ coaching staff before the start of the season and won his first NBA championship a couple of days ago. Now, he will replace Mike Brown as Steve Kerr’s top assistant. Brown became the head coach of the Sacramento Kings in early May.
For their part, the Hornets didn’t expect this development and will now need to go back to their hiring process to find a replacement for James Borrego. Mike D’Antoni and Terry Stotts are expected to be frontrunners for the job.
🚨CONFIRMED: Kenny Atkinson decides he will NOT become the Hornets head coach. He will remain an assistant with the Warriors. (@wojespn had it first.)
I’m told several people with the Hornets learned the news via Twitter.
— Will Kunkel (@WillKunkelFOX) June 18, 2022
