Philadelphia 76ers: Lloyd Pierce named the Atlanta Hawks head coach

After five years with the team, Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach Lloyd Pierce has officially been named next head coach of the Atlanta Hawks.

Less than a week after the Philadelphia 76ers were officially eliminated from the 2018 NBA playoffs, the team has already lost a key member of their 2017-2018 squad.

After half a decade with the team as Brett Brown‘s primary assistant coach, Lloyd Pierce has officially been named the 13th full-time head coach of the Atlanta Hawks and will be relocating to the Peach State to attempt to rebuild one of the worst franchises in the NBA.

Much like the 2013-2014 Sixers, the Hawks were at one point a solid playoff contender with a crew of good, but not great players, but after a losing a steady stream of players like Al Horford, Jeff Teague, and Paul Millsap year after year, the team has officially sunk to one of the worst clubs around, finishing out the 2017-2018 NBA season a 24-58 record, the worst of any team in mark in the Eastern Conference.

Though the team does still have a few promising pieces, like Dennis Schroder, Taurean Prince, and Philly product DeAndre’ Bembry, it’s going to take some serious work to return the Hawks to playoff consideration.

Which makes Pierce perfect for the job.

Though Pierce is a first time head coach, he has served as an assistant for four different NBA clubs, the Sixers, the Memphis Grizzlies, the Golden State Warriors, and the Cleveland Cavaliers, he’s has quickly risen up the ranks from an undrafted guard from Santa Clara University to an NBA head coach over the last decade and a half, and served as an essential part of the 76ers ground up rebuild over the last five seasons.

Known fondly as the primary architect of the Sixers’ fifth-ranked defense, Pierce was essential to the team’s resurrection from a 10 win team in 2015-2016 to a 52 win squad in 2017-2018, and will surely bring his knowledge, skills and mentorship to another young team hungry to return to the top half of the Eastern Conference.

While only time will tell if Pierce is actually able to turn around his new Atlanta squad, and who the Philadelphia 76ers will choose to replace him with going into the 2018-2019 NBA season, it’s nice to see one of our own to get acknowledged for his hard work and determination both on and off the court and watch the Brett Brown coaching tree start to sprout.

Next: Even a maskless Joel Embiid couldn’t save the Sixers

And hey, after the Hawks essentially gave the Sixers Ersan Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli after the 2018 trade deadline, it’s nice to return the favor moving forward.