Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Atlanta Hawks have fired head coach Lloyd Pierce. He will finish with a 63-120 record in Atlanta. The Hawks clearly felt like a shake up was needed to help improve their playoff chances, and it seems that will come via a new head coach. Nate McMillan will likely be promoted, as he lead the team last week going 2-1 in place of Pierce who was out due to the birth of his second child.
Pierce has certainly positively impacted the development of John Collins, Trae Young, De’Andre Hunter, and the rest of the young Hawks, but it seems the team is past the development stage. To this point in the season, the Hawks are 12-19 in games with Pierce on the bench, well below the record they expected, especially after Pierce openly claimed the goal was to make the playoffs. In-season firings, while not uncommon, certainly are something front offices look to avoid. However, in this situation, it seems the front office feels McMillan is the best choice to lead the team. At the time of this writing, no official announcement has come from Atlanta as to who will take over, but Wojnarowski reports they will be offering the job to McMillan hopeful of his acceptance.
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