After what has been a disastrous start to the 2020-21 season, rumors were pointing in the direction of the Atlanta Hawks making a head-coaching change.
Boasting a 14-20 record heading into this week’s action, that has now come to fruition. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski , the Hawks fired head coach Lloyd Pierce.
This move comes after the 44-year-old Pierce posted an astonishingly bad 63-120 record as the Hawks’ head coach since taking over in 2018-19.
“We would like to thank Lloyd for his work and commitment to not only the Hawks organization but the city of Atlanta,” the Hawks said in a statement after the reported firing.
Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk spent this past offseason adding a core group behind stud guard Trae Young. That included Atlanta bringing in veterans such as Bogdan Bogdanović, Danilo Gallinari and Rajon Rondo. None of the three have panned out to the Hawks’ liking with Gallinari leading the trio in scoring at a mere 11.3 points on 39% shooting.
More than anything, it's Pierce’s inability to help the Hawks’ young core grow that led to his departure. In addition to Young, Atlanta has promising youngsters John Collins, De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish. That has not led to team-wide success for a Hawks team that has lost 11 of 15 since a 10-9 start to the campaign.
Some might say that Schlenk is using Pierce as a fall guy. That might be the case given that his offseason acquisitions have not panned out.
Even then, things need to change in Atlanta right now. That could potentially include the Hawks trading impending restricted free agent Collins. He’s apparently been on the trade block for some time now.
Despite their 14-20 record, the Hawks are just 2.5 games out of the eighth seed in what has been a pedestrian Eastern Conference. Making this move now could be a boon for the talented young team heading into the NBA All-Star break, but Schlenk certainly has some work to do on his end.
As for a potential candidate to replace Pierce as the Hawks’ head coach, they did not immediately make an announcement. It’s safe to assume top assistant Nate McMillan will take over on an interim basis.
The 56-year-old McMillan has had stints as a head coach with the Seattle Sonics, Portland Trail Blazers and Indiana Pacers. Atlanta is hopeful he accepts the interim gig.
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