Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk met with Sixers assistant Lloyd Pierce on Friday to complete his initial round of interviews for the team’s vacant head coach position.
Pierce is the seventh candidate Schlenk interviewed for the job. The Knicks have since hired David Fizdale, leaving six candidates for the Hawks job: Pierce, Celtics assistant coach Jay Larranaga, Hornets assistant Stephen Silas, Hawks assistant Darvin Ham, Warriors assistant Jarron Collins and Blazers assistant Nate Tibbetts.
Schlenk said he was scheduled to meet with Hawks principal owner Tony Ressler on Saturday to go over the candidates. Schlenk said a new coach could be in place by the end of next week.
“We need Tony to be comfortable with (the final candidates), so there will be a stage where Tony meets some folks,” Schlenk said. “We feel good about the group. I think there are a lot of good choices.”
Pierce was a Warriors assistant during the 2010-11 season, when Schlenk was a front-office executive with the team. Pierce has been a Sixers assistant since the 2013-14 season. He joined the Sixers after serving as a Grizzlies player-development assistant. He was player-development coordinator for the Cavaliers from 2007-10.
ESPN first reported Pierce’s meeting with the Hawks.
The Hawks and coach Mike Budenholzer parted ways last week after five seasons. None of the candidates to replace him have experience as an NBA head coach.
“I thought they all did a nice job (in interviews),” Schlenk said. “Some have more experience than others but generally the demographic we are looking for is assistants looking to take that next step and grow with your team.”
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