ATLANTA – Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce was fired on Monday after a disappointing start to a season with high expectations.
Atlanta team chairman Travis Schlenk announced the move in a brief statement from the team.
The Hawks are hopeful that assistant Nate McMillan will choose to become the interim head coach, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. McMillan will meet with Pierce and the rest of Hawks coaching staff, sources said. McMillan has been very loyal in his support of Pierce.
The Hawks are 14-20 and 11th in the Eastern Conference, after losing 109-99 in Miami on Sunday night. The teams will play in Miami again on Tuesday.
“We would like to thank Lloyd for his work and dedication to not only the Hawks organization, but also the city of Atlanta,” Schlenk said in the statement. Schlenk said the move, which takes place less than a week before Atlanta hosts the All-Star Game, is timed to help the team enjoy a second-half resurgence.
“We have high expectations of our team on the track and we believe that this change will allow us to have a strong second half of the season,” said Schlenk. Pierce, hired in 2018, was 63-120 (.344) with the Hawks and missed the playoffs in each of his two completed seasons. Atlanta started the season 10-9, but lost 11 of the last 15 games.
This report uses information from The Associated Press.