- The Hawks will be working out six draft prospects on Monday, the team announced in a press release. Terence Davis (Ole Miss), Tyler Davis (Texas A&M), Brandon Goodwin (Florida Gulf Coast), Jared Harper (Auburn), Josh Okogie (Georgia Tech), and Luke Maye (UNC) will participate in the session.
After a pair of interviews for the organization’s head coaching vacancy, Sixers assistant coach Lloyd Pierce will meet with Hawks ownership early this week, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. If the meeting goes well, there is a “strong chance” that Pierce will be Atlanta’s next head coach, Wojnarowski adds.
We relayed yesterday that Pierce interviewed with the Hawks twice recently as the organization looks to replace former head coach Mike Budenholzer. With the Sixers trailing the Celtics 3-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals, it’s possible Pierce’s stint in Philadelphia is nearing its end.
Pierce has served as an assistant with the Sixers for the past four seasons. He previously worked with Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk in Golden State. Pierce also spent time as an assistant coach with the Cavaliers and Grizzlies prior to joining the Sixers staff.
Atlanta has already interviewed Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga, Hornets assistant Stephen Silas, Warriors assistant Jarron Collins, and Trail Blazers assistant Nate Tibbetts. Other names connected to the opening include Spurs assistants Ime Udoka and James Borrego. Atlanta also interviewed David Fizdale, who agreed to become the Knicks‘ head coach earlier this week.
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Lloyd Pierce, who talked to the Hawks yesterday about their head coaching job, will receive a second interview, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated.
Pierce, an assistant with the Sixers for the past four seasons, previously worked with Atlanta GM Travis Schlenk in Golden State. He also spent time as an assistant coach with the Cavaliers and Grizzlies before coming to Philadelphia.
Pierce is the first known candidate to receive a second interview with the Hawks, who have also met with Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga, Hornets assistant Stephen Silas, Warriors assistant Jarron Collins and Trail Blazers assistant Nate Tibbetts, along with David Fizdale, who will be the Knicks’ next coach. Spurs assistants Ime Udoka and James Borrego are also rumored to be candidates.
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The Hawks interviewed Sixers assistant coach Lloyd Pierce for their head coaching vacancy, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. After the departure of Mike Budenholzer, Atlanta has been in pursuit of the team’s next head coach.
Pierce has served as an assistant on Philadelphia’s staff since the 2013/14 season. Before his stint with the Sixers, Pierce served as an assistant with the Cavaliers, Warriors, and Grizzlies.
LeBron James, who overlapped with Pierce during his first stint in Cleveland, once called him one of his favorite coaches, per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).
The Hawks have already interviewed Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga, Hornets assistant Stephen Silas, Warriors assistant Jarron Collins, and Trail Blazers assistant Nate Tibbetts. Other names connected to the opening include Spurs assistants Ime Udoka and James Borrego. Atlanta also interviewed David Fizdale, who agreed to become the Knicks‘ head coach earlier this week.
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Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga recently interviewed for the head coaching position with the Hawks, tweets ESPN’s Chris Forsberg. We passed along Atlanta’s interest in Larranaga earlier this week, and it appears the organization was able to quickly work out the details of an interview.
The field of candidates has become crowded after the Hawks parted ways with Mike Budenholzer last week. Nate Tibbetts, David Fizdale, Jarron Collins, Darvin Ham and Stephen Silas have all either interviewed or have interviews scheduled. Atlanta is also rumored to have interest in Spurs assistants Ime Udoka and James Borrego.
In addition to his playoff duties with the Celtics, Larranaga has been busy on the interview circuit, Forsberg adds. He met with the Knicks and reportedly made a strong impression during his interview with the Hornets.
Keep up with all the latest coaching developments with our 2018 NBA Head Coaching Search Tracker.
Another interviewee has emerged for the head coaching job in Atlanta, as Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports (via Twitter) that the Hawks are meeting with Hornets assistant Stephen Silas on Tuesday. Silas previously worked with current Hawks GM Travis Schlenk when both men were with the Warriors, Wojnarowski notes.
A longtime assistant for New Orleans, Cleveland, Golden State, and Charlotte, Silas has never held a permanent head coaching job in the NBA. However, he did step in for Steve Clifford for over a month during the 2017/18 season when Clifford took time away from the Hornets for health reasons.
After Clifford was dismissed by Charlotte at season’s end, there was a sense that both Clifford and Silas would be considered for some of the head coaching vacancies around the NBA. Silas has yet to meet with any other teams, but was immediately identified as a potential candidate for the Hawks after Mike Budenholzer‘s departure from the franchise.
Silas joins David Fizdale, Nate Tibbetts, Jarron Collins, and Darvin Ham among head coaching candidates who have interviewed – or will interview – for Atlanta’s job. Ime Udoka, Jay Larranaga, and James Borrego are also said to be on the Hawks’ radar, though interviews for those three have to be reported.
Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga is on the Hawks’ radar in their search for a head coach, Sam Amico of Amico Hoops reports. Larranaga has been an assistant with the Celtics since 2012 after being a head coach in the G League. The son of college coach Jim Larranaga has also coached in Ireland. The younger Larranaga is also on the long list of candidates for the Knicks’ coaching vacancy, Amico adds.
- The Hornets’ coaching search could get complicated if they chose to pursue former Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer notes. Reuniting Budenholzer with center Dwight Howard wouldn’t be a good idea, given how their relationship deteriorated in Atlanta, Bonnell adds.
The Hawks have interviews set today with a pair of Western Conference assistants, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Nate Tibbetts of the Trail Blazers and Jarron Collins of the Warriors will both interview for Atlanta’s head coaching spot, which was opened when the organization parted ways with Mike Budenholzer this week.
The Hawks’ interest in Tibbetts has been known since Friday when Portland granted permission for an interview, but Collins’ candidacy is new, notes Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Darvin Ham, who has been an assistant to Budenholzer for the past five seasons, will interview tomorrow.
Other identified candidates are David Fizdale, who interviewed Saturday, as well as Stephen Silas, James Borrego and Ime Udoka.
Collins, who played 10 NBA seasons, spent two years as a scout with the Clippers before joining Golden State as a player development coach in 2014/15. He was promoted to an assistant the following year.
The Hawks are set to interview David Fizdale later today for their now vacant head coach position, Marc Stein of the New York Times reports. Fizdale is among several candidates as Atlanta will also consider Trail Blazers assistant Nate Tibbetts and Hornets assistant Stephen Silas, Stein adds.
We relayed on Thursday that the Hawks were expected to consider Fizdale, Tibbetts, and Silas. Atlanta entered the offseason with Mike Budenholzer under contract for two more seasons but both sides parted amicably earlier this week after he interviewed with the Suns and Knicks.
Fizdale has been a popular candidate for various head coaching vacancies. He previously served as an assistant coach for four seasons with the Hawks under Mike Woodson.
He coached the Grizzlies to a 43-39 record during the 2016/17 campaign but the team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
The 43-year-old was relieved of his duties 19 games into this season as Memphis struggled to win while Fizdale’s relationship with All-Star Marc Gasol reportedly deteriorated. Fizdale has been endorsed by his former players and fellow coaches as he looks for his next opportunity.
Although the end of the relationship between Mike Budenholzer and the Hawks was classified as a mutual parting of ways, it doesn’t appear the two sides agreed to any sort of buyout of the two years and $13MM+ remaining on Budenholzer’s contract.
Budenholzer will receive the full amount of the money left on his contract with the Hawks, reports Jeff Schultz of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That was a “lump Hawks owner Tony Ressler did not want to swallow,” according to Schultz, who suggests that the team was willing to agree to the arrangement in order to move on and begin searching for a new long-term head coach.
Continuing to pay their old head coach isn’t an ideal situation for the Hawks, but Schultz notes that Atlanta’s financial obligation to Budenholzer will be lessened if he lands a new head coaching job elsewhere. While the specifics aren’t clear, it sounds like the agreement between the Hawks and Budenholzer includes some form of set-off rights that will prevent the veteran coach from collecting his full salary from Atlanta while also earning a full salary from a new team.
In order for the Hawks to reduce their commitment to Budenholzer though, he’ll need to be hired by a new team. After interviewing with the Suns, Budenholzer withdrew from consideration for that job, so he appears to only be in the mix for the Knicks’ position for now. There have been rumblings in recent weeks that Budenholzer could be eyeing the Bucks’ job, but as long as Milwaukee remains in the playoffs, interim coach Joe Prunty continues to hold that role.
As Schultz observes, Ressler and GM Travis Schlenk initially wanted to leverage other teams’ interest in Budenholzer into compensation for letting him out of his contract. Not receiving any compensation and remaining on the hook for Budenholzer’s $13MM salary is almost a worst-case scenario for the franchise. However, with Budenholzer’s return having become increasingly untenable and Atlanta wanting to start interviewing candidates to replace him, the club felt it was time to make a move, even if the financial pill was a tough one to swallow.