Quin Sinder ‘agrees to five-year contract to be head coach of Atlanta Hawks’ and could make his debut Tuesday against the Washington Wizards
The Atlanta Hawks have agreed to a five-year deal with Quin Synder to be the team’s new head coach, and he could make his debut as early as Tuesday against the Washington Wizards, according to ESPN.
Sinder, 56, was pursued by the Hawks immediately after former coach Nate McMillan was fired five days ago.
It won’t be his first time on the sidelines for the Hawks after serving as an assistant with the team during Mike Budenholzer’s staff.
Synder most recently coached the Utah Jazz, whom he led to the NBA playoffs three times, before stepping down last summer as it appeared the team was about to embark on a rebuild.
In recent days Synder is said to have had conversations with general manager Landry Fields, assistant GM Kyle Korver and owner Tony Ressler about a number of philosophical, team and budgetary personnel matters.
Quin Sinder reportedly agrees to five-year deal with Atlanta Hawks
Synder will replace former coach Nate McMillan, who was fired less than a week ago
Sources also said he is expected to enter the competition with a significant voice in player personnel matters.
One of his primary goals in continuing to try to lead the Hawks to a guaranteed playoff spot will be to fix the chemistry issues that have plagued the team all season.
Atlanta is currently 31-30 and in eighth place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference, which would qualify them for the play-in tournament.
Along with his ability to develop players in the playoffs, accountability and transitioning the team to a top-10 ranking in both offensive and defensive rankings proved to be key parts of his tenure in Utah.
Coincidentally, Synder is set to take over the team in a similar fashion to his predecessor McMillan.
McMillian initially took over an underperforming Hawks team after Lloyd Pearce was fired in 2021. McMillian managed to get this Hawks team to show new life and advance to the Easter Conference finals before their season ended .
It remains to be seen if Synder will have similar success once he takes over, but until then Joe Prunty will remain as interim coach. Atlanta won their first two games under Prudy.
Prudy posted a 21-16 record as interim head coach with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2018 after Jason Kidd. Prudy and the rest of Atlanta’s assistants are expected to remain in place through the rest of the season.
Snyder (left) served as an assistant under Mike Budenholzer (right) during the 2013-14 season