ATLANTA – Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce was fired Monday after a disappointing start to a season with higher expectations.
Atlanta team president Travis Schlenk announced the move in a brief statement issued by the team.
The Hawks are hoping Nate McMillan’s assistant will become the interim head coach, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. McMillan is meeting with Pierce and the rest of the Hawks’ technical staff, sources said. McMillan has been fiercely loyal in his support of Pierce.
The Hawks are 14-20 and 11th in the Eastern Conference, after a 109-99 loss to Miami on Sunday night. The teams return to play on Tuesday in Miami.
“We want to thank Lloyd for his work and commitment to the Hawks organization, not just the city of Atlanta,” Schlenk said in the statement. Schlenk said the move, which comes less than a week before Atlanta hosts the All-Star Game, is scheduled to help the team enjoy a second-half resurgence.
“We have high expectations for our team on the court and we believe that by making that change now we can have a strong second half of the season,” Schlenk said. Pierce, hired in 2018, was 63-120 (.344) with the Hawks, losing the playoffs in each of his two completed seasons. Atlanta started the season 10-9, but has lost 11 of its last 15 games.
The information from The Associated Press was used in this report.