Atlanta Hawks: 3 potential coaching candidates to replace Lloyd Pierce

The Atlanta Hawks were the second team this season to move on from their coach. The lowly Minnesota Timberwolves moved on from Ryan Saunders earlier in the season. Less than a week ago, the Hawks moved on from Lloyd Pierce.

Pierce was a pillar in the community with his work for social justice and his strong voice encouraging people to vote during the last election. However, he was not going to remain the coach of a losing basketball team based on his community standing.

He paid the price for his team having another losing record, the third of his three-year tender. He appeared to lose the locker room earlier this year and was not able to get it back. This combination is usually the end of any coach and Pierce was no different.

The Atlanta Hawks, despite injuries, showed that they stopped listening to Lloyd Pierce.

The Hawks players showed in many games that they were not buying into Pierce’s gameplan. They were losing leads in so many games and have had several games where they were 20 plus points down early on.

Their injury issues are well documented but every player on the roster is a professional. They are all proud individuals who want to be the best. It is not a problem for every player to have a down night here or there but when it is across the board on multiple occasions, the voice giving the message needs to change.

Now the Hawks are going to search for a replacement coach but they will not be in any great rush, given they have a quality interim headman in Nate McMillan. Let’s take a look a three possible candidates.