5 potential replacements for Steve Clifford as Magic head coach

3. Kenny Atkinson

It’s fairly surprising how little buzz Kenny Atkinson has gotten over the last year or so when it comes to head coaching vacancies. Steve Nash’s success with the Nets probably hasn’t helped, but adding James Harden will help any team contend, and there’s no question Atkinson got a raw deal in Brooklyn.

Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the other fresh faces wanted their own head coach, and in their defense, it’s worked out well so far! But no one should overlook the modern offense that Atkinson installed there before Brooklyn became a title threat, or how much he helped young players like Caris LeVert, D’Angelo Russell, Joe Harris, Jarrett Allen and so many others during his Nets tenure.

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 in 2018-19 and would’ve been a contender last year if both KD and Kyrie hadn’t been banged up all season. Remember, those two superstars don’t sign with the Nets in 2019 if not for the culture change that he and general manager Sean Marks helped implement.

A young team like the Magic, in desperate need of a coach with player development skills, would be wise to embrace Atkinson’s love of the 3-pointer and up-tempo pace, since doing so would help everyone on this roster gain a little confidence. His Nets actually improved defensively during his time there as well, so as much as this would be a move to revamp Orlando’s 29th-ranked offense, he’d also be able to improve their 26th-ranked defense in the process.