Chris Mullin was a surprise attendee at Kenny Atkinson’s first day of training camp as Nets coach, representing his home borough and supporting his longtime buddy.
“I’m good friends with Kenny. We go way back. Just here to support him and support Brooklyn,’’ said Mullin, who estimated he has known Atkinson since “the early ’90s. … I was living on Long Island in the offseason, so I used to play out there in the offseason. So I’ve got a lot of respect for him, great guy. We text back-and-forth.
“He put his time in. He’s one of those guys, a gym-rat. If he wasn’t in the NBA, he’d be coaching somewhere because he just loves the game, and does it for the right reasons. I’m happy for him; he’s a really good guy.”
Atkinson was playing abroad, but coming home in the offseason while Mullin was playing for the Warriors and spending summers on Long Island. Atkinson said he hopes to build relationships with the local colleges, but getting Mullin, entering his second season at St. John’s, was the perfect way to start camp.
“I do want to make a connection with the area coaches, being from here. Not just Chris Mullin, but that’s Tim Cluess at Iona, that’s [Kevin] Willard at Seton Hall. I think it’s kind of cool,’’ Atkinson said. “So I’d been texting with Chris and I was shocked, he texted me and said ‘Man, I’d love to come by.’
“For him, Brooklyn-born, Brooklyn-bred, Xaverian, great player, I wanted him to say hello to our players. [Mullin] was born in Brooklyn and was a great player, coach at St. John’s. It’s just good for our players to be aware of the history of Brooklyn basketball, and he’s obviously one of the pillars, best players ever.”
And one of the best shooters ever. Mullin, who spoke with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson near the end of practice and praised the young wing to Atkinson, said having shooters and developing players will be the key for the Nets.
“That’s the name of the game. When coach [Lou] Carnesecca comes to our practices, I’ll tell him this guys’ quick, and he goes ‘Can he put it in the basket?’ Cut to the chase. It’s not a track meet. Can he put it in the basket? If you do that, you do well. If you don’t, you do bad,’’ Mullin said.
“You’re only as good as your players. You can have nice plays, diagram and have all the great systems, if you can’t make a shot, don’t make free throws and turn the ball over, you’re going to lose,” Mullin said. “The foundation is skill development and having players that can execute. That’s one of [Atkinson’s] strong backgrounds.”
Atkinson, on Greivis Vasquez being ready for the season-opener: “I don’t think it’s overly ambitious. … That’s our plan.”
The coach was noncommittal about rookie Caris LeVert, who spent practice running off to the side.