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The Golden State Warriors‘ coaching staff may look a bit different next season. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnorowski, the Houston Rockets have been granted permission to interview Warriors’ assistant coach Kenny Atkinson.
“ESPN Sources: Houston has received permission to interview Golden State associate head coach Kenny Atkinson for franchise’s coaching job,” Woj said in a tweet. “Atkinson helped rebuild Nets into a playoff team and accepted Charlotte job before changing his mind and staying in Golden State a year ago. Atkinson has a strong history of creating an environment for young players to grow into winning professionals, including both as Brooklyn’s head coach and as an assistant in several stops.”
Atkinson joined Steve Kerr‘s staff ahead of the 2021-22 NBA season.
As for Houston, they’re looking to fill the void created when they moved on from former head coach Stephen Silas on Monday.
Steve Kerr Could Seek More Power in Warriors’ Front Office
As for Golden State’s current head coach, Kerr, he doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Even if his good friend, Warriors general manager Bob Myers, may be on the way out.
Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney caught up with an anonymous Western Conference General Manager, who said that Kerr would likely be unhappy if Myers left, but it “wouldn’t affect him too much.”
“I don’t think he’d like it much if Myers were to leave but I don’t think it would affect him too much in terms of how he approaches things,” the source said. “He is happy there by all accounts, he has a good relationship with everyone involved and I don’t think he wants to see someone else come in and coach Steph Curry for the last years of his time in the NBA. Curry and him have a very good relationship and I think that appeals to Steve a lot. So I think it is mostly positive news for the Warriors no matter what happens with all the other moving parts.”
The source then added that Kerr could leverage for more say in the front office, should Myers depart this summer.
“They will pay him, money won’t be the issue. But if Myers leave and the team puts Joe Lacob’s son [Kirk] in charge, I think you’ll see Steve Kerr looking to make sure he has more say in the front office. He has some leverage because his contract is up in two years.”
Warriors’ Steve Kerr Praises Klay Thompson for Historic Feat
Golden State’s man in charge doesn’t seem to eager to bolt just yet. In fact, he seems pretty excited about how things are going. After star guard Klay Thompson surpassed the 300 3-pointers made in a season milestone on Sunday, Kerr shared his comical pregame encounter with the 4-time NBA champ.
“Yeah I pulled Klay aside two minutes before the game and I said ‘I know you’re five [threes] away, but just let it happen. You don’t need to chase anything, especially early in the game. Just get off the ball and let it happen in the flow,’” Kerr said via NBC Sports Bay Area. “He’s like ‘okay, no problem coach.’ And then he made five threes in the first five minutes. So, that’s Klay. But, they were really good shots, that was the main thing. Even though he went out launching, they were great shots. It wasn’t like he was taking bad ones. It was really good for him to get that mark. I told him after the game just how proud I was of him, for what he’s been through, to go through those two devastating injuries and fight his way back, win a championship last year and then have a great season this year. A complete season, playing back-to-backs by the end of the year. It’s really a remarkable story, a testament to Klay and his fortitude and love for the game. I couldn’t be happier for Klay.”
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