When the Brooklyn Nets fired Kenny Atkinson, many looked at Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant as the reasons why he was let go.
During a recent appearance on Durant's new podcast, The ETCs, Irving refuted that he got Atkinson fired before then basically admitting he wanted a new coach:
First he says it’s “false” then explains why he got Kenny Atkinson fired, which needs to be heard because it’s impossible to understand. A good coach who worked his ass off to build something was dumped so you don’t have to run sprints? pic.twitter.com/igT44Fwr6w
— Alan Hahn (@alanhahn) October 2, 2020
Within the podcast, Irving begins by showing some love to Atkinson for his contributions to the Nets. But after talking about Atkinson's efforts, the All-Star point guard proceeded to discuss why he felt the team needed a new person at the helm.
Irving shared that in the first practice with the Nets, Atkinson had the team running sprints. Even though he complimented Atkinson, Irving said the moment he saw the team running sprints in the first practice he felt like Atkinson was instilling the wrong culture in Brooklyn.
Here's the key part of the conversation transcribed by Nets Wire:
“I want to give a shout out to Kenny Atkinson because some people came out and was like, ‘Yo, Ky and KD got Kenny fired.’ And look, that was completely false,” Irving said on his teammate’s new show. “Listen, Kenny was great for the group that he served, and I was very appreciative of what he was giving us throughout the season when we were playing. We always heard how great Nash was or saw how great Nash was as a player, but also when you get to know him as a person, you understand why he can co-exist with us because we don’t need somebody to come in and put their coaching philosophy on everything that we’re doing and change up the wheel and, ‘Yo, you guys need to start doing this,’ and we start running on the first day of practice, and it’s just like, “No.’
“I want somebody, I need somebody that’s going to understand that I am a human being first. I serve my community and where I come from first, and then basketball is something I come and do every single day because I love [it], and also I have the right ingredients and people around me to come in and do my job at a high level, and I know that they will hold me accountable to that level. It’s no disrespect to Kenny or any other coaches I played with, it’s just Steve coming in at this moment and then following up with putting together a great coaching core was going to make us more successful.”
Of course, with their status in the league, Irving and Durant's words carry a ton of weight. Provided that, if they aren't content with a situation, the franchise will appease to what they believe is best for the team.
Following the decision to fire Atkinson, the Nets hired Steve Nash to be their next head coach. Besides his comments on Atkinson, Irving also shared some rather interesting thoughts on having Nash leading the team next season earlier this week.
Ever since his days with the Cleveland Cavaliers, everything Irving says has been criticized — whether it be warranted or not. While he denies getting him ousted, Irving's remarks pertaining to Atkinson aren't helping his case in the slightest.
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