Hawks, Quin Snyder in talks about coaching job; team wants to hire him quickly, per report

Atlanta fired coach Nate McMillan over the All-Star break

The Atlanta Hawks have reportedly zeroed in on former Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder. Two days after firing coach Nate McMillan, the Hawks are trying to hire Snyder and have begun "formal discussions" with him, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania. 

From The Athletic: 

The Hawks and Snyder had a virtual meeting on Wednesday, sources said. Snyder was believed to be out of the country as of Wednesday, and the sides are working on a potential in-person meeting in the very near future, sources added. Along with Snyder, the Hawks have a list of head coaching candidates such as Milwaukee Bucks assistant Charles Lee, Sacramento Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez, Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, San Antonio Spurs assistant Mitch Johnson and G League South Bay's Miles Simon. Among the pool of candidates, it's believed that the Hawks have focused on Snyder.

There has been mutual interest between the Hawks and Snyder, sources said. At 29-30 and in eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings, the Hawks believe the time is right to move quickly on their coach of the future, if possible, and believe in Snyder's ability to enhance their culture on and off the floor.

In 2013-14, the season before the Jazz hired him, Snyder was on Mike Budenholzer's coaching staff in Atlanta, as was Atkinson. Lee joined Budenholzer's staff the next season and then followed Budenholzer to Milwaukee. 

Snyder was an obvious candidate for this job because of his track record in Utah. The Jazz had won 25 games the season before he arrived, and during his tenure they became one of the Western Conference's top teams, with an offense that was built on "advantage basketball" and evolved when the front office added more firepower. 

The Hawks are 29-30 and eighth in the Eastern Conference, a half-game ahead of the ninth-place Washington Wizards. They rank 16th in offense, 21st in defense and 23rd in point differential, all of which is disappointing after trading three first-round picks and a pick swap for Dejounte Murray last offseason. 

At a press conference on Wednesday, Atlanta general manager Landry Fields said that Snyder is "somebody that we will consider, for sure," adding that he feels comfortable mentioning Snyder's name -- and not the other candidates' names -- because he's not employed by another team. 

In the same press conference, Fields said that there had been "slippage" this season. Last year, the Hawks had the second-best offense in the league and, although they didn't take a ton of 3s, only one team shot them more accurately. This season, after dumping Kevin Huerter for a protected first-round pick, only one team has shot 3s less frequently, and Atlanta ranks 25th in 3-point accuracy, according to Cleaning The Glass, which eliminates garbage time and heaves. 

Fields replaced Travis Schlenk as the Hawks' lead executive in December. He made his first significant moves at the trade deadline, acquiring forward Saddiq Bey from the Detroit Pistons and big man Bruno Fernando and sharpshooter Garrison Mathews from the Houston Rockets in exchange for a total of four second-round picks. 

If Snyder is the first coaching hire of the Fields era, he'll also be the third coach of the Trae Young era. Schlenk hired Lloyd Pierce before the 2018-19 season, Young's rookie year, and replaced him with McMillan during the 2020-21 season. 

Atlanta's first game after the All-Star break is on Friday at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Unless the hire is made official before then, interim coach Joe Prunty will be at the helm.