The Atlanta Hawks are not wasting any time in finding a long-term replacement for recently fired head coach Nate McMillan.
Atlanta has been linked to as many as a half dozen potential candidates to replace Snyder, including suspended Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka.
It now looks like the team is going in a completely different direction altogether. According to reports from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday, the Hawks were progressing in talks with Quin Snyder to hire the respected former Utah Jazz head coach.
However, in a follow-up story that night, The Athletic’s NBA insider Shams Charania revealed that the team has officially offered Snyder the job. “There are strong signs he will accept the job and both sides are working to get a deal done.” Charania added the contract could see Snyder earn upwards of $8 million annually.
What makes Quin Snyder perfect for Atlanta Hawks
All of this comes with the Atlanta Hawks mired in yet another down season. They enter this weekend’s action with a pedestrian 29-30 record and would have to take part in the play-in tournament if the season ended today.
The backdrop here is Trae Young’s status as the face of Atlanta’s franchise and a rift he reportedly had with the aforementioned McMillan. The Hawks need to find a way to appease Young while making it clear that organization-wide success is more important than the ego of one player.
Quin Snyder could very well be that guy. The 56-year-old former Duke player served as Utah’s head coach from 2014-22, leading the team to six consecutive playoff appearances to close out his career in Salt Lake. He resigned after leading Utah to a 49-33 record and a first-round exit in the 2022 NBA Playoffs.
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Snyder has worked under respected coaches in that of Mike Krzyzewski (Duke), Larry Brown (Los Angeles Clippers), Doug Collins (Philadelphia 76ers), Mike Brown (Los Angeles Lakers), and Mike Budenholzer (Atlanta Hawks).
Bringing some stability to the bench would be absolutely huge for a Hawks team that has struggled since earning a surprise appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals back in 2021.