Six possible Kenny Atkinson replacements for the Warriors to consider – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

With less than two weeks left in training camp as head coach of the United States men’s basketball team, Steve Kerr found himself in the familiar position Monday of hanging a “Help Wanted” sign on the Warriors gate.

With Kerr already in the process of replacing the late Dejan Milojević, who died in February, he now has another opening with the departure of his assistant Kenny Atkinson, who has reportedly accepted the head coaching job with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Atkinson is the fourth assistant to leave for a high-profile job elsewhere since Kerr arrived at Golden State in 2014, following Alvin Gentry (New Orleans), Luke Walton (Los Angeles Lakers) and Mike Brown (Sacramento Kings).
Kerr’s tendency to hire top assistants has been to value experience as an NBA head coach. Of his top four assistants over the years, only Walton had no experience in that role before joining the Warriors.

Although Kerr, according to multiple league sources, contacted Darvin Ham shortly after he was fired by the Los Angeles Lakers last month, Ham ended up joining the Milwaukee Bucks as Doc Rivers’ lead assistant. Ham spent four seasons in Milwaukee as an assistant under Mike Budenholzer before heading to Los Angeles.

That’s just one example of the candidate pool dwindling over the past month as new coaches have hired assistants.

Here are six candidates still available to the Warriors as of Monday afternoon, five of which fit the profile of Kerr’s former recruits and one who doesn’t:

JB Bickerstaff

Bickerstaff spent five seasons as head coach of the Cavaliers, rebuilding over the first two, posting winning records over the last three, with consecutive NBA playoff appearances over the last two. Although his contract covers the 2025-26 NBA season, he was fired a week after Cleveland lost to the eventual champion Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals. He was previously a head coach at Houston and Memphis. Bickerstaff, 45, is known for emphasizing defense.

James Borrego

Despite 10-win improvements over his final three seasons with the Charlotte Hornets, Borrego was fired in 2022. A year later, he landed in New Orleans as associate head coach of the Pelicans under Willie Green. A finalist with Atkinson in Cleveland, Borrego is a candidate for the Detroit Pistons, who last week fired Monty Williams and now have the only remaining opening in the NBA. New Detroit general manager Trajan Langdon worked with Borrego in New Orleans. Borrego, 46, is considered a defensive strategist.

Chris DeMarco

DeMarco, 38, Golden State’s only coach of the Mark Jackson era, is known as a straight shooter who builds relationships at all levels. He joined the Warriors in 2012 as a video intern, then became a video coordinator the following year and an assistant coach in 2015. The only head coaching experience on his resume is with the Bahamas national team, which shocked Argentina last summer. during the final of the Olympic prequalification tournament.

Becky Hammon

Would Kerr make an “off the beaten path” rental? He has thought about it in the past. If he chooses to retire from the WNBA, Hammon is the obvious candidate. As head coach, she led the Las Vegas Aces to back-to-back championships. She has experience in the NBA, having spent seven seasons as an assistant in San Antonio. Hammon, 47, interviewed to become an NBA head coach and was a finalist in 2021 for the job with Portland, which hired former NBA star Chauncey Billups.

Terry Stotts

The longtime head coach of the Trail Blazers (2012-21), who reached the 2019 Western Conference Finals, left the organization in 2021. He took a year off before accepting a position l he last summer as a senior assistant under Milwaukee’s first-year head coach. Adrien Griffin. It lasted less than four months, as philosophical differences with Griffin led Stotts to tender his resignation. Kerr showed his admiration for Stotts as an offensive mind. Does Stotts, at 66, still want to return to coaching?

Frank Vogel

He has one of the longest resumes in the NBA, having spent 10 years as an assistant before becoming the head coach of four different teams (Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic, Lakers, Phoenix Suns) over the past 14 years. He lasted just one season in Phoenix, having been fired after the Suns were swept in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs in April. Vogel, 51, had four seasons remaining on a five-year, $31 million contract. He is a well-respected coach, primarily focused on building a strong defense.

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