(Credit: Sarah Stier/NBAE/Getty Images)
Earlier this week, the Atlanta Hawks made the decision to fire head coach Lloyd Pierce after a 14-20 start to the season. Nate McMillan, who has been a head coach with Seattle, Portland, and Indiana will be taking over the reins. He did so having gotten full support from Pierce, whom he is close with. Pierce was in the middle of his third season with the Hawks after having gone 29-53 in his first year and 20-47 in his second year. To not even last three seasons is rough and it has to raise questions about whether or not the Hawks pulled the trigger a little quick.
One obvious factor is the fact that there are reports that the players wanted Pierce out. If that's true, that's certainly something that could come into play. If a coach has lost the support of his players, it's hard to justify keeping that coach around.
Of course, when you look at the Hawks' roster, outside of Trae Young (26.2 points & 9.5 assists), the Hawks don't have a ton of pieces to really work with. John Collins (18.1 points & 7.6 rebounds) is the number two option and while he's solid, I don't think you can expect a team with Collins as the number two piece to make the playoffs. On top of that, the Hawks aren't even at full strength as their number three scorer De'Andre Hunter (17.2 points) is out for an extended period of time due to a right knee injury. Clint Capela is giving them something with his 14.7 points, 14.2 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game, but even with him added to the mix, this is still a very young team that is figuring out its identity.
If the Hawks are making the change because they sense that Pierce and this current group of guys isn't meshing well and that they really could benefit from a leadership change, then this move makes sense. It's not like Pierce was lighting the world on fire as a head coach. They weren't that good and he should bear some responsibility for that.
But, if this is about them feeling like they have to do something to give the appearance of trying to make this change, then I disagree with this move. Ultimately, it's the job of general manager Travis Schlenk to put together a competitive product on the floor and regardless of who the head coach is, it's clear that this team needs an infusion of talent to put around Young. Him pinning all the blame on Pierce, when he's the one who put the roster together just isn't fair.
Lastly, there should be a lot of pressure on Schlenk to find the right coach to lead this Hawks franchise going forward. McMillan wouldn't be a bad candidate, but obviously, Schlenk should conduct a thorough search in the off-season to find the right guy. If he doesn't, his days in Atlanta will be numbered.
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