With almost three months to go until the 2018-19 season, the Atlanta Hawks will start their new era under head coach Lloyd Pierce.
This summer the Hawks drafted Luka Doncic with the third overall pick and traded his rights in exchange for Trae Young. Atlanta would close out the draft by selecting Kevin Huerter and Omari Spellman.
As you may already know, the Hawks are in the second year of their rebuild. What better way to help a rebuild then add a young head coach? Across the league teams are trying to catch up with the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors.
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Golden State has mastered the model of small-ball lineups, drafting young players and developing them for multiple seasons. Currently, Atlanta is restructuring their roster similarly to Golden State. If you think about it, the Hawks lured the Warriors former assistant GM Travis Schlenk to take over in Atlanta.
In addition to Schlenk, the team added a young head coach in Pierce. Between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Warriors, both teams won their titles with solid management and good coaching.
Ultimately, Pierce walked into a good situation for the most part. Last season under Mike Budenholzer, the Hawks finished with a 24-58 record. However, Budenholzer left Pierce with some young talent in players such as John Collins, Dewayne Dedmon, Taurean Prince and Kent Bazemore.
Although Bazemore could share the same fate as Dennis Schröder who was recently traded, the Hawks still have a solid core that they can build around. As the regular season approaches, what are some expectations for Pierce in his first year?
Developing a Culture
Prior to coming to Atlanta Pierce served as an assistant coach with the Cavaliers (2007-10), Warriors (2010-11), Memphis Grizzlies (2011-13) and the Philadelphia 76ers (2013-18). Looking at the California native’s resume should provide Hawks fans with some optimism.
During his time in Cleveland, he coached under Mike Brown and reached the playoffs three consecutive seasons. Brown created a winning environment in Cleveland with the assistance of LeBron James. The Cavs under Brown played solid defense in crunch time situations and were average on offense.
After his stint in Ohio, Pierce would join Keith Smart’s coaching staff with the Warriors for a year. Unfortunately, the 42-year-old coach only stayed in the Bay area for a year and Stephen Curry was still overcoming ankle injuries during that time.
For the next three years, the former 76ers assistant coach witnessed the evolution in Memphis. Pierce’s time with the Grizz will help the Hawks down the road because of the defensive culture that the Grizzlies built. You may remember the Memphis trio that featured Marc Gasol, Michael Conley Jr. and Zach Randolph — memorable members of the team’s “grit and grind” mentality.
Of course, Atlanta will build their roster with more three-point shooting, unlike the Grizzlies did in years past. Finally, if you are a Hawks fan you have to “trust the process.” Coaching alongside Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown was huge for Pierce.
Occasionally, fans forget how Brown endured four consecutive seasons of losing. This season, the Sixers finished the season with a 52-30 record and made it to the second round of the playoffs.
The time, coaching under Brown will help Pierce remain patient, build a defensive foundation and develop younger players. Like Brown, Pierce is a player’s coach and knows how to connect with his players and build solid relationships.
Expect Pierce to build a solid team who can run the break, play defense, run a solid offense and shoot a high percentage in three’s.
Developing the Young Core
Again the Hawks are in the second year of their rebuild but there is a lot to be encouraged about. Two weeks ago, Atlanta acquired Jeremy Lin in a trade from the Brooklyn Nets. Adding Lin to the roster provides more ballhandling and spacing.
Right now, Atlanta has compiled a roster with multiple forwards and guards who can defend multiple positions. This summer the team has also added more perimeter shooting, which will help the team space the floor.
Although the Summer League just concluded, Pierce has already made an impact on his young talent. In an interview, Young talked about how his coach guarded him full court during pre-draft workouts.
To some, a coach guarding a potential player may not mean much, but it’s the message behind the action that means the most. A lot of coaches have limited interactions with their summer league teams, but to step on the court and have constant interaction with your summer league team speaks volumes.
Coming into the 2018-19 season the Hawks starting lineup could consist of Lin, Bazemore, Prince, Dedmon and Collins. Another scenario as the season unwinds is Young, Lin, Bazemore, Prince and Collins.
Another key point is that this summer’s draft and trades helped the Hawks start to develop more bench depth. Pierce will have some valuable options off the bench like Huerter, Spellman, DeAndre’ Bembry and possibly Miles Plumlee (lol).
The next few years will be challenging, but, for this season, Pierce needs to focus on helping his team build good habits on both sides of the ball. Atlanta finished the 2017-18 season averaging 103.4 points, 41.9 rebounds 23.7 assists per game while shooting 36 percent from three.
Both Lin and Young will help move the ball and increase the scoring threat in the backcourt with their ability to shoot the long ball.
Continue to Build Beyond 2018-19
Obviously, the Hawks are not going to jump straight into the playoffs next season. But with the departure of King James, the Eastern Conference is wide open. As Atlanta continues to build over the next few years, it’s safe to say there are two major teams in contention in the East for the foreseeable future
Boston and Philadelphia are the only two teams that have enough to make it out of the east for multiple years int the future. Though the Raptors will make some noise with the addition of Kawhi Leonard and the Indiana Pacers made some interesting moves too, I do not see them being as consistently dangerous as Philly or Boston.
This could be a long season for the young Atlanta team, but, as fans, it’s important not to get discouraged. Hiring a young head coach in Pierce means that the Hawks are serious about this project and in rebuilding.
Similar to Golden State, the Oklahoma City Thunder built their franchise through solid management and by drafting young talent. Of course, the Thunder lost three MVPs over the course of six years.
In the event that the season starts off slow (which it most certainly will), it’s important to keep in mind that building a culture and winning environment takes time — a team can’t become a dynasty overnight.
After evaluating the current roster any win total over 24 would be considered a success. With the young core in Collins, Young and Prince this team could possibly reach 30 wins, which is a slight improvement from last year.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news this evening that the Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed to send over Carmelo Anthony and a 2022 first-round pick to the Hawks in exchange for exchange for Dennis Schröder and Mike Muscala. However, Melo will be waived by the team.
Next: Hawks Projected Starting Lineup for 18-19 Season
Atlanta finished last season 23rd in OPG and 25th in PPG. Pierce has a lot of work ahead of him but the future seems bright.
All stats from this story are from stats.nba.com.