Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson makes shocking exit

Assistant coach Jacque Vaughn takes over as interim head coach

In what Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks describes as a "purely amicable and mutually agreed upon" decision, head coach Kenny Atkinson has resigned from his position effective immediately, as announced by the team on Saturday morning.

Following the Nets' win against the San Antonio Spurs Friday night, the team had a record of 28-34 placing them in seventh position in the Eastern Conference. A seventh place is not a stellar performance, but all things considered, it isn't terrible either. At least it should not typically be enough to cause friction between the head coach and the Nets' corporate management.

Neither the Nets nor Atkinson has officially released any definitive statement regarding why Atkinson decided to suddenly leave the organization.

According to CBS Sports, Atkinson's departure comes as a surprise, considering he signed a contract extension last year. He is instrumental in bringing in NBA superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to the team. But insiders are speculating that it could also be the reason why there's conflict between Atkinson and the Nets management.

The two superstars account for 69 million dollars or 58% of the team's payroll. But Durant has played zero games for the Nets, and Irving has only played 20. Both players are currently injured, with Irving suffering from a shoulder injury, and Durant recovering from an Achilles injury.

GM Sean Marks was quick to quash the rumours, claiming that there's no specific event, player, or animosity that led to the so-called "mutually agreed upon" decision. But according to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, there's a conflict between Atkinson's strategic vision and both superstars' style of play. It was not clear, considering the players' injuries, what those conflicts might be, and such rumours were shot down by Marks in the press conference.

Marks was clearly doing damage control during the press conference, repeatedly telling everyone that Atkinson's departure is not a sign of internal problems in the organization. However, given the Nets' performance, it's not a competency issue.

Interim coach Jacque Vaughn says that for the next 20 games, he and the rest of the players will just have to adjust and do their best until an announcement is made on the new head coach.