As the Atlanta Hawks prepare their search for a new head coach in the wake of firing Nate McMillan on Wednesday, the team is reportedly considering former Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka, per Marc Stein. Udoka was the head coach of the Celtics last season and was suspended by the franchise for the entire 2022-23 season in September for a reported inappropriate relationship with a female staff member.
Udoka, who coached the Celtics to the NBA Finals last season, was replaced in Boston by Joe Mazzulla, who recently signed a contract extension with the team to remain the head coach.
While the Hawks are interested in Udoka, Atlanta's leading candidate for the job is former Utah Jazz head coach Quinn Snyder, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Snyder, who was an assistant coach for the Hawks under Mike Budenholzer, who is now in Milwaukee, led the Jazz to six consecutive playoff appearances, missing the postseason just twice in his eight seasons there.
Other candidates the Hawks are reportedly interested in are Bucks assistant Charles Lee, Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez, Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, Spurs assistant Mitch Johnson and G League South Bay's Miles Simon, per The Athletic's Shams Charania. Lee also served as an assistant for the Hawks under Budenholzer and is considered a "serious" candidate for the opening.
Whoever lands the Hawks job will inherit a roster littered with talent, featuring two All-Star guards in Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. You would think that a roster featuring those two would have a record better than 29-30, but McMillan could not harness the talents of Young and Murray to create a dominant offensive attack. That will be the main task of the next head coach as the Hawks try to build a championship-contending team around Young.
