The Atlanta Hawks made a coaching change on Tuesday, firing head coach Nate McMillan.
McMillan originally took over for Lloyd Pierce after he was dismissed midway through the 2020-21 season. He led the team to the Eastern Conference Finals but a first-round exit in 2021-22 and a 29-30 start this year was enough to doom the former NBA guard.
Joe Prunty will be the interim head coach in McMillan’s stead, but three coaches are already being named as possible candidates for the permanent position.
“The Hawks are planning a wide-ranging search, but one candidate expected to be at the top of the list: Former Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder,” said ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. “Others expected to be considered include Bucks assistant Charles Lee, Golden State assistant Kenny Atkinson.”
Snyder resigned from the Jazz last June after eight seasons. He has not coached this year as he awaits his next head coaching opportunity.
Lee has been an assistant in Milwaukee since 2018. Prior to that, he spent four seasons on staff with the Hawks, so he knows the franchise.
Atkinson, meanwhile, has been coaching in the NBA since 2006 and posted a 118-190 overall record as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets from 2016-20.
Currently, the Hawks are in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, 3.5 games back of the sixth-seeded Knicks.