Okay, bad pun but you get the point. The Atlanta Hawks have fired yet another coach as Nate MacMillian has been relieved of his duties only a few days before the NBA season was set to resume, leaving the Hawks coach-less in the most important stretch of the season.
There comes a point in time where the Atlanta Hawks front office has to stop blaming the coaches for the team’s failures and look at the players themselves. And this is that time.
Obviously, these executives would rather lick the toilet seat of a used porta-potty than accept the roster they assembled is simply dysfunctional, but the consequences of ignoring the issue rather than just admitting a mistake and solving it will be far worse for them in the long run.
With the firing of Nate MacMillian and the hiring of Joe Prunty as the interim HC of the Hawks until they find a replacement, the franchise will have appointed three head coaches since franchise superstar Trae Young was drafted (by the Mavericks) back in 2018.
And, seeing how Luka Doncic, the player that Young was traded by the Mavs to get Doncic from the Hawks in the 2018 draft, has had two head coaches (Rick Carlisle and Jason Kidd) in the same timeframe and tremendous individual and team success, I think it’s clear to see that something is going wrong in Atlanta.
Now, before someone points out that Doncic’s two HCs to Young’s three HCs isn’t a lot, Carlisle voluntarily left the Mavericks organization in 2021 after 13 years and 1 NBA Finals victory (2011) with the team. So, the circumstances around the hiring and firings/resignations of the two franchises’ head coaches are completely different.
Anyway, back to the Hawks, it was clear for anyone with two working eyes to see that Nate MacMillian and Trae Young blended about as well together as oil and vinegar, which caused the Hawks to go from outside contender for the East’s #1 seed to a team that’s struggling to stay in the playoff race.
As of me writing this article, the Hawks currently sit in the 8th seed in the East with a 29-30 record, putting them just one win ahead of the 9th seed Washington Wizards, the 10th seed Toronto Raptors, and three wins ahead of the woeful 11th seed Chicago Bulls. And, if you find yourself only three wins ahead of a team that has been one of the most dysfunctional and chaotic organizations in the NBA, then you know you’re doing something seriously wrong.
Truthfully, the Hawks problems are something I thought would never be applicable to this team (well, one of them): a lack of 3-point shooting and Trae Young’s dip in form and professionalism.
First, with the 3-point shooting, how does a team with Trae Young and Dejounte Murray as the two starting guards average the 3rd lowest 3-point shot attempts/game (30.4) in the NBA? That’s just unacceptable for a team that is practically built to take as many 3’s as possible to average less than the Houston Rockets, the San Antonio Spurs, the Orlando Magic, and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Yes, the Hawks have taken less 3-point shots on average/game than the Los Angeles Lakers! You know, the team that had Russell Westbrook, Austin Reeves, LeBron James (who’s averaging 31%) and Dennis Schröder their best 3-point shooters a month ago!
Whomever the next Hawks coach will be has to immediately get Murray and Young some pick-and-roll screens and catch-and-shoot plays as they’ve been wasted by MacMillian and his offensive schemes all year long.
As for Young himself, he’s getting to the point where coaches will actively be avoiding the Atlanta Hawks due to his reputation as a hot-head and “uncoachable” personality. MacMillian is now the second HC to get into an irreconcilable fight with Young (the first being Lloyd Pierce), and the team has regressed massively since the Hawks surprise run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021.
Getting knocked out of the 1st round in 5 games by the Heat last season and now looking at missing the playoffs altogether this year is not what I would call progression. And neither would anyone in the Atlanta Hawks general management call it that too.
Therefore, Trae Young doing stupid stunts like not playing in games because MacMillian started him on the bench is not only unacceptable at the NBA level, but also makes other teams and coaches think twice about joining the Hawks as they’ll believe Young is an egotistical, stuck-up, whiny brat that chooses to get his coaches fired over facing the adversity when it comes his way.
And that’s a reputation no one wants to have as that’ll get one kicked out of the league faster than young can get into a fight with his head coach.
Too soon?
Nevertheless, I guess we’ll have to see if the next Atlanta head coach can get through to Trae Young, but I worry for Young and the prospects of him being a franchise player to build around if the next coach fails to do so.
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