LA Clippers: 5 candidates to replace Doc Rivers as head coach

3. Kenny Atkinson

The Brooklyn Nets played at a fast pace and hoisted a ton of 3-pointers in their four seasons with Kenny Atkinson at the helm, so stylistically, he might represent the progressive evolution the Clippers’ offense badly needed during their postseason collapse. Atkinson’s modern sets would be able to keep the ball and his players moving when the offense verges on getting too iso-heavy.

The question is whether Atkinson could actually implement a competent defense — something he struggled with in Brooklyn, as the Nets were in the league’s bottom half for defensive rating in his first three seasons before surging up to 10th this year. Still, the Nets’ defensive improvement in 2019-20 might be enough to warrant him a look in LA, especially since Atkinson’s rosters weren’t exactly very formidable until the last year or two. The Clippers have the personnel to be a smothering defense no matter who’s in charge.

The appeal here would be hiring a coach who could cobble together a good enough defense while still keeping the Clippers’ offense humming at critical junctures in the postseason. The drawback is that Atkinson might be a better fit as the coach of a rebuild rather than an aspiring contender that needs to win now, and it’d especially look bad to replace a successful Black coach with a moderately successful white one, especially given how the league’s latest numbers look.