Trae Young and other young Hawks players reportedly wanted Lloyd Pierce fired

The Atlanta Hawks took the NBA news cycle by storm on Monday when they fired head coach Lloyd Pierce, seemingly out of nowhere.

The Hawks have underachieved so far this season with a 14-20 record with high expectations coming into the year.

They haven’t been good, but the path so far for Pierce and the Hawks hasn’t been easy. They’ve dealt with major injuries to their roster so far with Danillo Gallinari, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Deandre Hunter all missing significant time.

Still, though, the organization decided to move on. But, apparently, it wasn’t just because of their record.

Trae Young and other young Atlanta Hawks players were reportedly ready for the team to move on from Pierce, according to reporting from The Athletic.

Pierce and Young had always had a “strained” relationship that built up over their first two seasons together, per the report, but that strain grew this season amid the pressure from ownership to make the playoffs. The two had mended things, but as the season slid the friction between them returned.

“As this season progressed, the goodwill that Pierce and Young had re-established would dissipate, and the friction between them would return. It became apparent that Young and Pierce were not going to be a match that was sustainable for long-term success.”

It wasn’t just Young who felt this way. Other Hawks players felt the same way.

“But Young was hardly alone here. Sources say player support beyond Young was dwindling at the end, with several sharing their desire for a change with management recently. Still, the difficult dynamic between Young and Pierce was an undeniable factor in Pierce’s downfall and a tone-setter of sorts for the group at large.”

It seems he didn’t have much of a shot to keep his job with the way the locker room turned on him. You hate to see that — especially as the NBA struggles with Black representation in their head coaching ranks.

Nate McMillan has been elevated to the role of interim head coach, but the team is still searching for a full-time replacement. There’s a chance he’ll do a good job and he’ll stick.

But still, regardless, that’s a rough go of things for Pierce. Hopefully, at some point, he’ll get a shot at a second head coaching spot.