Oklahoma City Thunder: 5 candidates to replace Billy Donovan as head coach

2. Kenny Atkinson

It’s fairly surprising teams with vacancies like the Chicago Bulls or New Orleans Pelicans haven’t already swarmed Kenny Atkinson to get him to take the job. The Thunder should not make the same mistake, especially with so many other rebuilding teams in need of a new head coach.

Atkinson got a raw deal with the Brooklyn Nets as Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the other fresh faces wanted their own head coach, but no one should overlook the modern offense he installed or how much he helped players like Caris LeVert, D’Angelo Russell, Joe Harris, Jarrett Allen and so many others during his tenure there.

The Nets’ 118-190 record with him at the helm is misleading, since they underwent a full-scale rebuild from the ground up, but the team won 42 games last season and would’ve been a threat out East if both KD and Kyrie hadn’t been banged up all year. Remember, those two superstars don’t sign with the Nets last summer if not for the culture change he and general manager Sean Marks helped implement.

A team that wants to install a modern NBA offense for years to come would be wise to embrace Atkinson’s love of the 3-pointer and up-tempo pace, since doing so would only reinforce the good habits these youngsters developed under Chris Paul. Whether OKC will actually possess the shooters to do so is another matter, but from a schematic perspective, Atkinson is one of the best coaches on the market right now.