Quin Snyder, Kenny Atkinson, And Charles Lee Emerge As Early Favorites To Be Atlanta Hawks’ New Head Coach

NBA insiders announced yesterday that head coach Nate McMillan was fired from the Atlanta Hawks. He left the team with a 29-30 record which is currently eighth in the Eastern Conference coming out of the all-star break. In three seasons as the Hawks head coach he had a 99-80 record, but the situation became stale this season among some of the teams top stars and himself. Drama between Trae Young and himself were well documented. Now, reports say that there are three top candidates in the running to be Atlanta’s new head coach. 

Reports have come out and said that McMillan had requested and asked to step down as head coach multiple times within the last few weeks. The feelings were clearly mutual and McMillan did not want the job anymore. The Hawks announced yesterday that assistant coach Joe Prunty will be the interim head coach moving forward.

At eighth in the East, the Hawks are still in decent shape to make the playoffs. The eighth, ninth, and tenth seeds in the East are all currently separated by one-game and the margin for error moving forward will be slim. Georgia Sports Betting sites have the Hawks at (+10000) to win the Finals this season.

The Hawks are starting a search for a new head coach immediately, sources tell ESPN. Among the top characteristics in the search: player development, accountability and getting Hawks offense and defense into league's Top 10.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 21, 2023

Expect the Hawks to have a new head coach hired by the end of this season or soon after

Reports say that the Hawks are eyeing in on three main targets in their search for a new head coach. They are Quin Snyder, Kenny Atkinson, and Charles Lee. Main traits the Hawks are looking for in a head care are player development, accountability and improving the team on both sides of the ball.

Choices will be be at the premium while the season is still happening, but the Hawks know they need to act fast. Next we’ll look at the three main contenders for the Hawks new coaching job and see what they bring to the table.

Quin Snyder 

Snyder was the head coach of the Utah Jazz from 2014 before he resigned last year. In his eight seasons with the team he left with a 372-264 record as head coach and was known for his offensive coaching skills. He was also known for his strong player-development and turned players like Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert into multiple time all-stars.

On top of that, he helped Jordan Clarkson earn Sixth Man of the Year last season for Utah. His one flaw was that he was never able to take the Jazz farther than the Western Conference Semi-Finals in the playoffs, but he might be able to make something happen with the talent in Atlanta. The team did in fact make the Conference Finals a few seasons ago.

Charles Lee

NBA insiders Shams Charania has reported that Bucks associate head coach Charles Lee will be a serious candidate for the Hawks. He was an assistant coach under Mike Budenholzer when they were both previously with the Atlanta Hawks and there’s no surprise why Lee is a contender for the job.

Lee is also know for his player development and has helped players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, and Khris Middleton.

Kenny Atkinson 

Atkinson was the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets from 2016-2020 and went through some ups and downs in that time. Brooklyn had a league worst record 20-62 in his first season as head coach, but he helped lead Brooklyn to the playoffs as the sixth seed two years later. ‘

Since leaving the Nets he spent time with Ty Lue as an assistant coach with the Clippers and is currently with the Warriors as an assistant coach at the moment. Reports say he was offered the Charlotte Hornets head coaching job this past offseason, but ended up turning that down.