Warriors planning to add Kenny Atkinson to their coaching staff

The Golden State Warriors are adding a pretty big name to their coaching staff for the upcoming season. According to a report from The Athletic, the Warriors are signing Kenny Atkinson to join Steve Kerr’s bench. The Dubs had a spot to fill in their coaching staff after Jarron Collins announced that he would be leaving the team.

Atkinson is best known for his four seasons as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets from 2016 through 2020, when he took one of the worst teams in the league and turned them into a playoff squad, before a slightly disappointing 2019-20 in an awkward year that saw Kyrie Irving only play 20 games.

He spent last season as an assistant coach on the Los Angeles Clippers, meaning the Warriors are not only adding to their coaching staff, but diminishing the depth of a rival’s staff as well.

Prior to his head coaching stint in Brooklyn, Atkinson spent seven years as an assistant coach with the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks. In addition to being a strong get for the staff, Atkinson gives the Warriors a veteran with head coaching experience to be the lead assistant should Mike Brown move on this offseason or next. Brown has been open about his desire to return to head coaching, and there are numerous teams with coaching vacancies.

The Athletic also reported that the Warriors are signing Jama Mahlalela, who has been working for the Toronto Raptors in various developmental capacities for the last eight seasons, to their developmental staff. Add in last month’s report that the Warriors are signing Dejan Milojević, Serbia’s head coach, to their developmental staff, and it seems like the Dubs’ coaching staff will look quite different this year.