The Atlanta Hawks have hired Quin Snyder, the former coach of the Utah Jazz, as their new head coach on a five-year contract, just days after firing Nate McMillan.
The agreement includes the rest of the current season, and Snyder is set to take over the team as early as Tuesday, in their match against the Washington Wizards.
Snyder returns to coaching after resigning from the Jazz last June following the team’s latest end-of-season collapse.
He joined the Jazz before the 2014-15 season and helped lead the team’s most successful run since the John Stockton, and Karl Malone era ended in the early 2000s.
During his tenure, the Jazz had a combined record of 372-264 in the regular season, including three 50-win seasons from 2016 to 2021.
However, in the playoffs, the Jazz only managed to win 21 out of 51 games during six consecutive trips from 2016-22, and they were eliminated in the first round in three of their last four seasons before Snyder’s departure.
The Jazz were the top seed in the Western Conference in the 2021 playoffs but lost in six games to the Los Angeles Clippers in round two, despite Kawhi Leonard tearing his ACL and missing the series’ final two games.
Snyder will replace McMillan, who took over as the Hawks’ coach midway through the 2020-21 season after the firing of Lloyd Pierce, leading the team to a 27-11 record and a berth in the Eastern Conference finals, after an underwhelming 14-20 start.
However, the team’s performance was not enough to secure his position as head coach, and he was eventually fired.
The Hawks went 43-39 last season, earning the No. 8 seed but were swept by the Miami Heat in round one, who outscored them by 62 points in five games.
Currently, the Hawks are 31-30, and the No. 8 seed again despite making a win-now trade for All-Star guard Dejounte Murray last summer.
Snyder is now the Hawks’ third head coach in three seasons and must navigate the situation alongside polarizing point guard Trae Young, who reportedly had contentious relationships with both McMillan and Pierce.
This will be Young’s third head coach since he was drafted as the No. 5 overall pick in 2018.
»Atlanta Hawks hire Quin Snyder as their new head coach«
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