Atlanta Hawks fire Lloyd Pierce; Nate McMillan named interim head coach

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Hawks announced Monday that they have fired head coach Lloyd Pierce after less than three seasons. Pierce finishes his Hawks coaching career with a 63-120 record.

“We would like to thank Lloyd for his work and commitment to not only the Hawks organization but the city of Atlanta. He and his wife, Melissa, are tremendous people who have made a positive impact throughout the city,” Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk. “We have high expectations for our team on the court and we believe by making this change now that we can have a strong second half of the season.”

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The Hawks are currently third in the southeast division with a 14-20 record this season.

League sources told Channel 2 sports director Zach Klein that the Hawks wanted Nate McMillan to take over as head coach. The team later confirmed the move Monday night.

McMillan joined the Hawks coaching staff on Nov. 11, 2020 and previous worked as head coach with Seattle (2000-05), Portland (2005-12) and Indiana (2016-20).

Pierce’s firing comes a day after the Hawks’ late loss to the Miami Heat. It was the Hawks’ 11th loss after holding a fourth-quarter lead.

“I won’t say that’s the sole reason,” Schlenk said during a Zoom call. “I would say for us to accomplish what we want to this year, this was the time to make the decision.”

Schlenk said he did made the decision to part ways with Pierce on Monday morning. He said it was front office decision and not one made by Hawks owner Tony Ressler.

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