Sports

Closer look at Hawks head coach candidates

By Michael Cunningham, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A general view of center court at Philips Arena during the game between the Atlanta Hawks and the Memphis Grizzlies on February 2, 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia.

By Michael Cunningham, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

ATLANTA — The Hawks have narrowed their search for head coach down to four candidates. Here is some background on each of them:

Lloyd Pierce
Hometown: San Jose, Calif.

Experience: Sixers assistant, 2013- present; Grizzlies assistant-player development, 2011-13; Warriors assistant, 2010-11; Cavaliers assistant-player development coordinator, 2007-10; Santa Clara University assistant, 2002-07.

Pierce has been on head coach Brett Brown’s staff during the rebuild in Philadelphia. The Sixers lost 54 or more games during Brown’s first four seasons before the players they accumulated with high draft picks formed the core of this season’s team, which is the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Hawks are currently following a rebuilding path like Philadelphia’s. That’s part of the reason Brown told reporters over the weekend that it would be a “no-brainer” for the Hawks to hire Pierce.

“I hope soon that we can look at him as the next coach of the Atlanta Hawks,” Brown said. “I think he is a natural to lead an NBA program, especially to grow it as organically as we have done.”

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Pierce “runs the Sixers’ defense.” Philadelphia ranked fourth in defensive efficiency during the regular season.

Pierce’s Hawks candidacy is buoyed by working with Schlenk for part of one season in Golden State. Pierce was hired by the Warriors in December 2010 after Stephen Silas left for a position with the Hornets. Mark Jackson, then head coach coach of the Warriors, didn’t retain Pierce for the next season.

TRENDING STORIES:

Stephen Silas 
Age: 45 
Hometown: Boston

Experience: Hornets associate head coach, 2010-present; Hornets assistant coach, 2010-17 and 2000-03; Warriors assistant, 2006-10; Wizards advanced scout, 2005-06; Cavaliers assistant, 2003-05.

Silas is the other candidate to previously work with Schlenk in Golden State. Silas is credited with helping Steph Curry develop as a young player. The two know each other from Silas’ previous stint in Charlotte, where Curry grew up as his father, Dell, played for the Hornets.

Silas was the youngest assistant coach in the NBA (27) when he joined the Hornets’ staff in 2000. His father, Paul, was the Hornets head coach at the time and Stephen later followed his father to Cleveland as an assistant.

Paul Silas was an NBA head coach for a total of 12 seasons, with his last stop in Charlotte for the 2011-12 season. Silas played in the NBA for 16 seasons after the St. Louis Hawks selected him with the 10th overall pick in the 1964 draft.

“To be Paul Silas’ son in the world of basketball wasn’t necessarily something I wanted to do right away, but it was a way in,” Stephen told SB Nation in November. “Being my dad’s son has always been great. That’s one thing I’ve just had to deal with.”

Steve Clifford kept Silas on staff when the Hornets hired him as head coach in 2013. Silas was elevated to associate head coach after before this season.

“He can do everything,” Clifford told SB Nation about Silas. “It’s healthy for the team to not have to listen to the same voice 82 times. I have so much trust and he’s so thorough and knowledgeable in what he does that I’m never worried. The preparation is going to be as good or better.”

Jay Larranaga 
Age: 43 
Hometown: Charlotte

Experience: Celtics assistant 2012-present; Erie BayHawks head coach (D League) 2010-12; Cornell University assistant 2010-12; Irish National Team head coach 2008-10.

The Celtics interviewed Larranaga for the head coach position in 2013 before ultimately hiring Brad Stevens with Larranaga as the top assistant. Larranaga reportedly had a second interview for the Hornets head coach job over the weekend and interviewed with the Knicks before they recently hired David Fizdale.

Larranaga entered coaching after a 12-year career as a player in Europe. He played collegiately at Bowling Green State University when his father, Jim, was the head coach. Jim Larranaga currently is head coach at the University of Miami.

During Jay Larranaga’s two seasons as Erie BayHawks head coach, the team posted a 60-40 record with a pair of postseason berths in the D League (now G League)

“Part of the reason I got my first job in the states with the Erie Bayhawks in the NBDL was because I had two years’ experience as a head coach with Ireland,” Larranaga told the Irish Examiner in 2016. "Those two years really helped me — even when I was talking to the Celtics.”

Nate Tibbetts 
Age: 40 
Hometown: Sioux Falls, S.D.

Experience: Blazers assistant 2013-present; Cavaliers assistant 2011-13; Tulsa 66ers head coach (D League) 2009-11; Sioux Falls Skyforce head coach (D League) 2007-09; Sioux Falls Skyforce assistant 2005-07; University of Sioux Falls assistant 2001-05.

ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz consulted NBA insiders in 2016 and identified Tibbetts as a head coach candidate to watch.

“Though he's not a big personality, per se, Tibbetts' combo of player development chops, time as a head coach, positive energy and communications skills is starting to reach front offices around the league,” Arnovitz wrote.

Like Larranaga, Tibbetts’ time in the professional minor leagues gave him head coaching experience and a player development background. During Tibbetts’ two seasons as Sioux Falls head coach, the Skyforce posted a 53-47 record with one playoff berth.

This story was written by Michael Cunningham, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 

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