If there's anyone in the NBA right now that understands what Kenny Atkinson and the Brooklyn Nets are going through, it's Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown. Having endured tough losing seasons in Philly as well, he just continued to “trust the process,” until reaching this year, where they have emerged as a team bound for the playoffs.
The 57-year-old recently gave a lot of credit to Atkinson for being a good coach and sees him having the same success after a few more years, even comparing the rebuild of the Sixers to what the Nets have in front of them, via Michael Scotto of The Athletic.
“What I see is that he’s [Kenny Atkinson] really good at what they’re doing. We went overboard with development, we went overboard with relationships, tried to hold the locker room together. Make them feel they had worth and help them.
You blink, and five years later we’re in a pretty good spot. We’ve got a young foundation and we like the direction we’re pointing. From afar looking across the fence at this team – and Sean Marks is a very close friend of mine – they get Jeremy [Lin] healthy and the style of play, I can see they’re heading in the right direction. We’ve got respect for them.”
After making the playoffs in three straight seasons from 2012 to 2015, the Nets have only won a total of 41 games the past two years, and are once again headed to an early summer break. The good news is that they have some young and talented players like D'Angelo Russell, Jarrett Allen and Lin, who will be their cornerstones for the future, along with some veterans who can help bring out the best in them.
The Sixers have not had a lot of success as well the past five years, but they just played through it and added key pieces from the draft, along with some important signings in free agency. That has led to where they are now, and are looking to be perennial playoff contenders in the coming seasons.
With Brett Brown making it known that he believes the Nets can also pull off what they've done, it could give Atkinson and company more reason to also think that they can replicate their success, and become a contender again.
Follow Us
Subscribe