Finding the ideal match for each remaining NBA head coaching vacancy

The OKC Thunder should hire Kenny Atkinson.

This is a very unusual position the OKC Thunder are looking to fill right now. On one hand, the team could very easily be looking for someone to help them compete with the best as early as next season — A head coach who can get along with Chris Paul and help guide this young team back to the postseason.

On the other hand, Paul and the veterans could be removed from the equation in an instant, leaving this coach to steer the ship during a major retooling.

Being in that position seriously limits who could fill the position. It’s one that could be snagged by a young coach with culture-building tools like Chauncey Billups or Becky Hammon. However, the more likely option is someone who we just watched lead a team to overperform despite the odds being stacked against him: Kenny Atkinson.

In leading the Brooklyn Nets to consecutive playoffs, Atkinson was crucial in building a culture that embraced players for who they are and helped amplify their abilities on a grander scale. He took a motley crew of Nets to the playoffs and put up a decent fight against the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round a year ago. When Brooklyn’s front office shifted its focus on a new future, the fit between Atkinson and the Nets didn’t seem to make as much sense.

From a culture-building perspective, Atkinson is a great head coach to pair with OKC’s front office mastermind, Sam Presti. Atkinson can make an impact on the progression of the Thunder’s young players, who make up the majority of the roster by this point, and ride the ship wherever it eventually goes like he never got the chance to in Oklahoma City.

This fit only makes sense if the Thunder prioritizes the future instead of the current day. If young players start getting shipped out for win-now players, Atkinson is back in the same situation he got stuck with while leading the Brooklyn Nets.