The Atlanta Hawks have fired coach Lloyd Pierce, the team announced Monday. Pierce has been the team’s coach since the start of the 2018-19 season and oversaw the rebuild period for the franchise after a series of intervening stretches. Pierce rose to -1 63-180 overall thanks to a fairly young raster during his tenure, but after spending free-agent this time, Hawks’ ownership clearly expects more immediate results.
“We would like to thank Lox for his work and commitment to the city of Atlanta, not just the Hawks organization,” General Manager Travis Slank said in a statement. “He and his wife Melissa are tremendous people who have made a positive impact across the city.” “Our team on the court has exceeded our expectations and we now believe by making this change we can strengthen the other half of the season.”
He hasn’t arrived yet. The Hawks are 14-20 near the Ks l-star break. At the moment, they are the 11th ranked seed in the East Conference. If that season ends today, they will not be able to secure a place in the play-in tournament. Atlanta have suffered injuries to most of their free-agent signings, as Danilo Galinari, Rajon Rondo, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Chris Dunn’s main square have played just 49 combined games throughout the season.
Former Indiana Pacers coach Nate M. Camille, who has joined Pierce’s staff this season, has accepted a job on an interim basis, the team announced. Hawks was initially unsure if he would accept the position based on his loyalty to Pierce. McPhall coached the Hawks for three games this season when Pierce was away from the team participating in the birth of his second child.
Hawks has clearly ordered a play-f-or-bust for the front office fees and coaching staff. At present those expectations have not been met. Whether they are premature in nature is another question entirely, but since they are not in a position to make playoffs at the moment, the management felt that the time for change had come. Pierce’s tenure with the Hawks will end without a playoff appearance.
