Philadelphia 76ers assistant Lloyd Pierce met with Atlanta Hawks officials for a third time on Friday, emerging as the primary focus of the franchise’s head coaching search, league sources told ESPN.
A formal offer is expected as soon as today, league sources said.
Pierce traveled to Atlanta and met with team officials on Friday, including general manager Travis Schlenk, at the team’s facility, league sources said.
Pierce met with Schlenk for the first time on the opening a week ago, and met with Atlanta majority owner Tony Ressler earlier this week.
Atlanta parted ways with coach Mike Budenholzer on April 25.
As Atlanta moves into a complete rebuild, Pierce’s experience with the Philadelphia experiment and his strong background in player development have made a strong impression on Schlenk and ownership. Atlanta has four picks in the top 33 of the June NBA Draft.
Pierce has been an assistant for 11 years in the NBA, including with Cleveland, Golden State, Memphis and the Sixers.
Pierce spend four years as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Santa Clara, before joining the NBA. He played with NBA Hall of Famer Steve Nash at Santa Clara.
Source : ESPN
