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The Brooklyn Nets had a series of issues linking to their former head coach Kenny Atkinson. Among them was offseason signing DeAndre Jordan, who believed he would be a surefire starter in his rotation after he came as the third prong of a packaged deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Jordan reportedly came as part of the deal that would reel in superstars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant to the Nets, but instead, it was the young Jarrett Allen getting the starts.
Jordan returned to the Nets' starting lineup in place of Allen the minute Atkinson was fired. The 31-year-old had admitted throughout the season that he's had to adjust to coming off of the bench, but has tried to make the best of it. Jordan was also coming off the bench for Mitchell Robinson last season as a member of the New York Knicks.
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Allen has said all the right things following his benching, but there has been a surefire instability at the center position, making it difficult for either center to thrive with confidence.
The two big dippers have split minutes throughout their short stint together, but it's been Jordan who's gotten the lion’s share of minutes closing game, which showed Atkinson’s trust in Jordan over Allen.
Atkinson admitted around the All-Star break that he was still getting to know the new players, including Jordan. But when Jordan was asked about his relationship with Atkinson following a loss against the Washington Wizards on Feb. 26, the big man didn’t have much to say.
