ATLANTA — Atlanta Hawks Coach Lloyd Pierce has been relieved of his head coaching duties, and a new interim coach will take over.
Hawks President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Travis Schlenk made the announcement Monday, thanking Pierce in a statement for his contributions to the team.
Pierce was named the 13th full-time head coach in Hawks history in May 2018.
“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,” Schlenk said.
“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," Schlenk added in his statement.
Pierce compiled a 63-120 (.344) in 183 games.
Details for the reason why Pierce was released from his duties were not included in the statement.
Earlier this month, Pierce stepped away to be with his wife after the birth of their second child, and Hawks assistant coach Nate McMillan was announced as his fill-in back then.
McMillian has since been named the interim head coach for the Hawks.
According to the team, McMillan joined the Hawks coaching staff on Nov. 11, 2020. As a head coach with Seattle (2000-05), Portland (2005-12) and Indiana (2016-20), McMillan led his teams to a 661-588 (.529) mark in 1,249 career regular season games and has 53 games of postseason coaching experience, the Hawks said.