Chicago Bulls: 3 most appealing early Jim Boylen replacements

2. Kenny Atkinson

It makes sense that the Brooklyn Nets are going to do all they can to make sure that their two recently signed superstars remain happy with their coaching situation. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are one of the most talented duos in the NBA, and might be the best in the Eastern Conference. But the latter of the two has also run into locker room issues in the past (hence his run with the Boston Celtics).

But that doesn’t devalue what former Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson brings to the table and showed over the course of the last year and a half one single bit. He improved his record with the Nets every singe year of his coaching tenure. That peaked last season when the Nets were the most surprising playoff team out of the East, finishing with a record of 42-40.

Atkinson can also take a lot of the credit for taking in and developing talented players in Brooklyn such as point guards D’Angelo Russell and former Bull Spencer Dinwiddie, along with big man Jarrett Allen, shooting guard Caris LeVert, and former 3-Point Contest winner Joe Harris.

Not only could those players that Atkinson helped develop in Brooklyn prove that he deserves a shot as a head coach elsewhere around the NBA, those could be pieces the Bulls look into signing in the near future if they also get him as head coach.

Atkinson showed he is really good at taking rebuilds in the right direction in the span of just a couple of years. He did that with the Nets, who had a similar talent level on the roster last season that the Bulls could boast during the 2020-21 campaign. This fit does make a lot of sense.