Lloyd Pierce named new Hawks Head Coach

[macd-gm]

If we're switching 1-4 to guard against 3s then how is Len at protecting the paint? I haven't seen enough to know. I'd say Dedmon is ok but not great.

[ChokeFasncists]

^
Not very good, but if LP's such a good defensive coach, he should be able to help him.

[Jamaaliver]

Man this dude says all the right things. I hope he's the guy. I genuinely hope assuages any concerns the fanbase has and runs this show to unseen heights for the next couple of decades.

New Hawks coach comes at the job from a quiet place

A quiet man has assumed control of the Hawks’ bench. In search of someone to nurture a rebuild after Mike Budenholzer took his talents and bruised ego to Milwaukee, management went young and untested with its head coach, too.

“There are different ways to show emotion, to show passion, to lead. Yelling and screaming is not leading, it’s yelling and screaming,” says new Hawks Head Coach Lloyd Pierce. “Leading is preparation. It’s organization. It’s communication. It’s being a willing and active listener. To lead you have to be able to listen, also to be able to follow. Our players are going to tell us who we are.”

Pierce brought credentials as a skilled teacher. LeBron James still calls him one of his favorite coaches.

He has lived the kind of gradual, sometimes painful, growth through the draft that the Hawks hope to emulate. For five years he was the assistant coach/defensive specialist in Philadelphia, a team that won nearly as many games last season (52) as it had the three years prior, combined.

On being slotted as a defensive specialist, he can be downright defensive: “I tell people all the time, I have the biggest offensive advantage out of any coach, because I got to study 29 teams (offenses) every night. I get to study what they run, what they do, what their counters are. From an offensive standpoint I feel I’ve learned more doing the defense. I got to watch something we weren’t strong (defending) at in Philly – which was the pick-and-roll – I got to watch Boston run pick-and-rolls. I got to watch Detroit run pick and rolls. I felt like I gained more offensively than defensively, just studying.”

“Some of older coaches can explain it and yell at you, but it’s another thing when your coach can get in front of you and defend you,” Carter said. “When you think you can get it done and your coach can lock you up, that says a lot.”

So, this to the player once known as Vinsanity, can your coach lock you up, shut you down?

“I won’t let him. He’s too little.”

File that away, coach, as a challenge for some future practice session.

AJC.com

[ChokeFasncists]

“I tell people all the time, I have the biggest offensive advantage out of any coach, because I got to study 29 teams (offenses) every night. I get to study what they run, what they do, what their counters are. From an offensive standpoint I feel I’ve learned more doing the defense. I got to watch something we weren’t strong (defending) at in Philly – which was the pick-and-roll – I got to watch Boston run pick-and-rolls. I got to watch Detroit run pick and rolls. I felt like I gained more offensively than defensively, just studying.”

Very interesting. So he'll be synthesizing all the good things from offense from every team? That'd be real cool.

[Jamaaliver]

Read on Twitter

[jayu70]

Coach LP in action at practice, some good stuff:

Read on Twitter

[Jamaaliver]

Pierce set to begin first year with Hawks



Lloyd Pierce is hardly expecting a smooth ride in his first season as a head coach.

His Atlanta Hawks have begun a major rebuilding job. They have no star player, their point guard is a 20-year-old rookie, and their roster depth is suspect.

"Our margin of error to start when you have a new team, a new staff, is very slim," Pierce said. "So we need to try to get on the same page as early and often as we can."

Pierce, who previously oversaw Philadelphia's defence, has put the Hawk's biggest emphasis on how Atlanta performs when it doesn't have the ball. The goal is get rebounds, run the floor and score early.

"You have to match who you want to switch with, because that's where the league is going, and who you don't want to switch with," Pierce said. "We have a guy like Trae and we have a guy like (reserve centre) Miles Plumlee. We don't want to switch with those two guys. We don't want Plumlee out on the perimeter that much and we definitely don't want Trae at the rim, so I'm going to have to tweak a lot of what I've done in the past to fit who I have here now."

Associated Press

Fascinating Year Awaits Travis Schlenk and Lloyd Pierce



Pierce has been focused on bringing a long view of developing this exceedingly young Atlanta Hawks team – something that served him well during his time with the 76ers.

Pierce has said all the right things so far in the offseason, and he has seemed nonplussed by the Hawks getting blown out in back-to-back preseason games (understandably).

In a release from the Hawks upon being announced as the team’s head coach publicly, Pierce was effusive in his praise regarding the organization:

“This is a day I’ve been working towards for a long time and it’s an honor to be the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks. I have great respect for Travis [Schlenk] and strong belief in his plan to bring a championship to the city of Atlanta. After spending time with ownership, it’s clear they have a deep investment in and commitment to making this a model organization. This opportunity is a perfect fit for me, and I’m eager to get started.”

Pierce has said repeatedly that he is looking to instill a defensive mindset into this young team – something he was able to do with the 76ers during his five-year tenure there.

Soaring Down South

[jayu70]

The coach went on to summarize some of his highlights of being in the city, which have included attending Atlanta United, Dream, Braves and Falcons games. Pierce said he also planned on taking a trip to Piedmont Park after Saturday’s open practice.

The athletic events and tourist attractions in the city are common pit stops for new faces in the city to make, but Pierce took it a step further. Since being hired by the Hawks, he’s invited Ambassador Andrew Young to speak at training camp, he’s visited Jon Lewis in Georgia 5th Congressional District office, he’s seen Big Boi perform live at the College Football Hall of Fame and he took the trip with assistant Melvin Hunt to Southwest Atlanta to visit Rev. Joseph Lowery in his home. Hunt and Pierce went to see Killer Mike at his SwaggShop on Edgewood as well.

“This city is enriched in history,” Pierce said. “There are so many people who have paved the way in different avenues, different sectors that have contributed to the success and community here in Atlanta. I’ve just tried to learn about it, first and foremost, to present an opportunity to get myself, my staff, my team in front of those guys, and just take as much knowledge, insight, perspective that we can from anyone that’s ever been a part of the beautiful city of Atlanta.”

In addition to speaking to and getting to know Atlanta legends such as Lenny Wilkens and Dominique Wilkins, Pierce is also focused on giving back to the city. The first-year head coach said that he’s interested in mentoring the local youth and in September, he hosted his inaugural Coach Pierce Atlanta Hawks Coaches Clinic, where various coaches from the metro Atlanta area were given tips from the newest Atlanta staff inside of the Emory Sports Medicine Complex.

“I know we provide a platform,” he said. “I know we provide an area of hope for a lot of people as basketball ambassadors in the city of Atlanta. I think it’s our obligation and responsibility to give back and present ourselves. Whatever format that is, we’re working toward, we’re brainstorming on a couple ideas but I think it’s important because we are the ambassadors. We are the leaders in the basketball community here in the city of Atlanta.”
Please

Read on Twitter

[steady]

Man this dude says all the right things. I hope he's the guy. I genuinely hope assuages any concerns the fanbase has and runs this show to unseen heights for the next couple of decades.

New Hawks coach comes at the job from a quiet place

A quiet man has assumed control of the Hawks’ bench. In search of someone to nurture a rebuild after Mike Budenholzer took his talents and bruised ego to Milwaukee, management went young and untested with its head coach, too.

“There are different ways to show emotion, to show passion, to lead. Yelling and screaming is not leading, it’s yelling and screaming,” says new Hawks Head Coach Lloyd Pierce. “Leading is preparation. It’s organization. It’s communication. It’s being a willing and active listener. To lead you have to be able to listen, also to be able to follow. Our players are going to tell us who we are.”

Pierce brought credentials as a skilled teacher. LeBron James still calls him one of his favorite coaches.

He has lived the kind of gradual, sometimes painful, growth through the draft that the Hawks hope to emulate. For five years he was the assistant coach/defensive specialist in Philadelphia, a team that won nearly as many games last season (52) as it had the three years prior, combined.

On being slotted as a defensive specialist, he can be downright defensive: “I tell people all the time, I have the biggest offensive advantage out of any coach, because I got to study 29 teams (offenses) every night. I get to study what they run, what they do, what their counters are. From an offensive standpoint I feel I’ve learned more doing the defense. I got to watch something we weren’t strong (defending) at in Philly – which was the pick-and-roll – I got to watch Boston run pick-and-rolls. I got to watch Detroit run pick and rolls. I felt like I gained more offensively than defensively, just studying.”

“Some of older coaches can explain it and yell at you, but it’s another thing when your coach can get in front of you and defend you,” Carter said. “When you think you can get it done and your coach can lock you up, that says a lot.”

So, this to the player once known as Vinsanity, can your coach lock you up, shut you down?

“I won’t let him. He’s too little.”

File that away, coach, as a challenge for some future practice session.

AJC.com

I like that quote from LP about how he spent all that time studying offensive tendencies. And I am sure that will help him think of offensive approaches.

But the quote made me think of Brad Stevens training to be a coach, and studying defensive tendencies can also be important. For example, in the year before Stevens first got a college head coaching position, he spent about 14 hours a day studying footage of defensive tendencies as head of basketball operations for a college team - making $18,000 a year (he says it was the most enjoyable year he has ever had). You can see the likely link between that experience and his skill at calling out of timeout plays.

[macd-gm]

Man this dude says all the right things. I hope he's the guy. I genuinely hope assuages any concerns the fanbase has and runs this show to unseen heights for the next couple of decades.

New Hawks coach comes at the job from a quiet place

A quiet man has assumed control of the Hawks’ bench. In search of someone to nurture a rebuild after Mike Budenholzer took his talents and bruised ego to Milwaukee, management went young and untested with its head coach, too.

“There are different ways to show emotion, to show passion, to lead. Yelling and screaming is not leading, it’s yelling and screaming,” says new Hawks Head Coach Lloyd Pierce. “Leading is preparation. It’s organization. It’s communication. It’s being a willing and active listener. To lead you have to be able to listen, also to be able to follow. Our players are going to tell us who we are.”

Pierce brought credentials as a skilled teacher. LeBron James still calls him one of his favorite coaches.

He has lived the kind of gradual, sometimes painful, growth through the draft that the Hawks hope to emulate. For five years he was the assistant coach/defensive specialist in Philadelphia, a team that won nearly as many games last season (52) as it had the three years prior, combined.

On being slotted as a defensive specialist, he can be downright defensive: “I tell people all the time, I have the biggest offensive advantage out of any coach, because I got to study 29 teams (offenses) every night. I get to study what they run, what they do, what their counters are. From an offensive standpoint I feel I’ve learned more doing the defense. I got to watch something we weren’t strong (defending) at in Philly – which was the pick-and-roll – I got to watch Boston run pick-and-rolls. I got to watch Detroit run pick and rolls. I felt like I gained more offensively than defensively, just studying.”

“Some of older coaches can explain it and yell at you, but it’s another thing when your coach can get in front of you and defend you,” Carter said. “When you think you can get it done and your coach can lock you up, that says a lot.”

So, this to the player once known as Vinsanity, can your coach lock you up, shut you down?

“I won’t let him. He’s too little.”

File that away, coach, as a challenge for some future practice session.

AJC.com

I like that quote from LP about how he spent all that time studying offensive tendencies. And I am sure that will help him think of offensive approaches.

But the quote made me think of Brad Stevens training to be a coach, and studying defensive tendencies can also be important. For example, in the year before Stevens first got a college head coaching position, he spent about 14 hours a day studying footage of defensive tendencies as head of basketball operations for a college team - making $18,000 a year (he says it was the most enjoyable year he has ever had). You can see the likely link between that experience and his skill at calling out of timeout plays.

If I spent 14 hours a day watching old basketball games on tape for a year and then described it as the most enjoyable year i ever had, I'd most certainly be the victim of husbandicide.

[steady]

Man this dude says all the right things. I hope he's the guy. I genuinely hope assuages any concerns the fanbase has and runs this show to unseen heights for the next couple of decades.




AJC.com

I like that quote from LP about how he spent all that time studying offensive tendencies. And I am sure that will help him think of offensive approaches.

But the quote made me think of Brad Stevens training to be a coach, and studying defensive tendencies can also be important. For example, in the year before Stevens first got a college head coaching position, he spent about 14 hours a day studying footage of defensive tendencies as head of basketball operations for a college team - making $18,000 a year (he says it was the most enjoyable year he has ever had). You can see the likely link between that experience and his skill at calling out of timeout plays.

If I spent 14 hours a day watching old basketball games on tape for a year and then described it as the most enjoyable year i ever had, I'd most certainly be the victim of husbandicide.

I . Yes Stevens is a great head coach but a total geek of human being which being a geek myself I totally admire

[MaceCase]

Man this dude says all the right things. I hope he's the guy. I genuinely hope assuages any concerns the fanbase has and runs this show to unseen heights for the next couple of decades.




AJC.com

I like that quote from LP about how he spent all that time studying offensive tendencies. And I am sure that will help him think of offensive approaches.

But the quote made me think of Brad Stevens training to be a coach, and studying defensive tendencies can also be important. For example, in the year before Stevens first got a college head coaching position, he spent about 14 hours a day studying footage of defensive tendencies as head of basketball operations for a college team - making $18,000 a year (he says it was the most enjoyable year he has ever had). You can see the likely link between that experience and his skill at calling out of timeout plays.

If I spent 14 hours a day watching old basketball games on tape for a year and then described it as the most enjoyable year i ever had, I'd most certainly be the victim of husbandicide.

Mariticide. I know this because as a 6 year old I overheard my father yell this at my mother after she attempted egusi soup.

[macd-gm]

I like that quote from LP about how he spent all that time studying offensive tendencies. And I am sure that will help him think of offensive approaches.

But the quote made me think of Brad Stevens training to be a coach, and studying defensive tendencies can also be important. For example, in the year before Stevens first got a college head coaching position, he spent about 14 hours a day studying footage of defensive tendencies as head of basketball operations for a college team - making $18,000 a year (he says it was the most enjoyable year he has ever had). You can see the likely link between that experience and his skill at calling out of timeout plays.

If I spent 14 hours a day watching old basketball games on tape for a year and then described it as the most enjoyable year i ever had, I'd most certainly be the victim of husbandicide.

Mariticide. I know this because as a 6 year old I overheard my father yell this at my mother after she attempted egusi soup.

That's friggin hilarious. Way to go other Mac. You one up'd my joke! Going to be long season...

[Jamaaliver]

In his first head coaching job, Lloyd Pierce is leaving nothing to chance



On​ the​ eve of​ his first​ official game​ as an​ NBA head​ coach,​ Lloyd Pierce of the​ Atlanta Hawks​ walked​​ the streets of New York and tried to reconstruct how it happened, how he rose to the top of his profession by age 42.

Back in his mid-20s, he’d been playing overseas after a distinguished career at Santa Clara, teammate of Steve Nash (who once fed him for a dunk over longtime friend and fellow NBA head coach David Fizdale), but he saw his future elsewhere, making good use of his business management degree.

“I’ve always been into the market and into finance,” Pierce told The Athletic. “I was thinking I’d get in into the financial services industry. I didn’t think coach, I didn’t think basketball.”

He hurried back to the hotel, remembering when Dick Davey, his college coach, reached out with a job offer—a transition that turned into a career. He remembered when Keith Smart, now with the Knicks, brought him to Miami during the LeBron James years. He thought of a conversation with Rick Carlisle of the Mavericks, who interviewed him for associate head coach several years ago. By then Pierce was an integral part of Brett Brown’s staff in Philly and yet, what Carlisle said when he thanked him for the chance to talk about the job still surprised him.

“You’re gonna be a head coach in this league,” Carlisle told Pierce. “I don’t believe that. I know it.”

The Athletic

[Jamaaliver]

Dwyane Wade on Atlanta, Joe Johnson, Trae Young and Lloyd Pierce

The legend and longtime division rival is saying goodbye to the league, including Atlanta

Wade is also a fan of two of the Hawks most recent moves from this summer, by hiring Lloyd Pierce and drafting Trae Young.

“When ‘Bron came to Miami, he and Coach Pierce were very close,” Wade said. “I got the chance to get to know him, be around him. He worked us out in the lockout a lot of times, and [he’s] just a great basketball mind. He got the nod to be the head coach here, and obviously I supported it because I’ve been around it and I know what he brings. It’s great for organizations who are trying to find their way back to where they were a few years ago when they were at the top of the East. To hire a young coach like that, who really knows the game, that can really connect to the players and to the community. It was really a great hire.”

Peachtree Hoops

[tbhawksfan1]

So what do you guys / gals think of coach so far?

I think he's clearly along for the tank. Bud wasn't and that was a prob.

I'm very concerned with a few things; Trae is super struggling with his outside shot...duh. The consensus seems to be that Trae CAN shoot but that his size is causing serious, expected limitations. Yeah, but Baze and Prince have been terrible. Baze is a terrible fit next to Trae and Prince seems to have a case of Markele Fultzitious. Trae finds himself on a back-court island with no help.

What moves has Pierce made? lin at SG is absoutely worth a look. If Prince needs some meditation or healing time, start Trae / Lin / Bembry. Try something....

Another big concern is the D. OK, Trae is a liability, but Baze and Prince are supposed to be 3D. Hawks are looking lost and systemless on O and D.

I'm all for giving a newbie coach a chance, but not at the cost of losing all semblance of an intelligent, co-ordonated plan on O and D. Trae needs to integrate NBA level of play. Not playground ball.

Bud could get Trae open looks all day.... Not about Bud, but his replacement needs to get these guys playing NBA ball. It's not about w/l, it's about good development

[ATL Boy]

I think we'll have Pierce along for the entirety of this tank -- this season is what it is, next year we may dabble in FA and field a team that should be competing for the playoffs but will instead be mid-high lottery fodder again. In two years, when we have expectations of a playoff run with a trio of top 5 picks leading us, we'll struggle out of the gate and Pierce will be fired for underdelivering and will be replaced with a proven veteran head coach who's won before.

I hope I'm wrong obviously, but file this away as my prediction to look back on in a few years.

[Jamaaliver]

The No. 1 lesson Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce learned as an assistant with the 76ers



For Pierce and his coaching staff, success isn’t measured by the team’s record at the end of the season...success is measured by growth, and not wins, for the Hawks. It’s why there’s no level of frustration from Pierce when he sees the team is 6-20 and one game away from having the worst record in the Eastern Conference.

The level of patience Pierce possesses can be somewhat attributed to his time in Philadelphia. The 76ers went from accumulating 19, 18, 10, 28 wins in consecutive seasons before “The Process” came to fruition last season when the team won 52 games. Before the question was finished, asking what was the No. 1 lesson he learned from Philly, Pierce blurted out, “Patience.”

That same level of patience was also what Golden State was preaching back in 2010, when Pierce was an assistant in Steph Curry’s second season in the league. The Warriors knew they had a special player in Curry, but they needed another special player to pair him with.

“To be ecstatic or frustrated about anything you do right now is temporary,” Pierce said. “We can win five in a row. It’s still temporary. The big picture is when we get to a point where our guys are really ready to take it up a notch. That’s tough, and it takes time.”

The Athletic

[Spud2nique]

I know we are rebuilding but Pierce needs to step up his coaching..his plays suck.

[jayu70]

I know we are rebuilding but Pierce needs to step up his coaching..his plays suck.

What plays?