:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59558835/usa_today_10574602.0.jpg)
After it was reported yesterday that Travis Schlenk and the Atlanta Hawks would meet with Portland Trail Blazers assistant Nate Tibbetts, news comes down from the New York Times’ Marc Stein that they will be interviewing David Fizdale for their head coaching vacancy today:
The Hawks are interviewing David Fizdale today for their coaching vacancy, league sources say. The former Grizzlies coach has also been courted by the Suns and Knicks this month
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 28, 2018
Fizdale was most recently the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies, where he was unceremoniously ousted after clashing with star center Marc Gasol. Widely regarded as perhaps the best coach on the market (other than Mike Budenholzer, who is not in the running for the Atlanta job for obvious reasons), Fizdale would bring a development-first mentality to a Hawks team full of young talent needing to be nurtured. Previous to his short stint in Memphis, he was an assistant in Miami during the LeBron James era, moving up to be Erik Spoelstra’s lead assistant by the time he left to take the Memphis job.
Stein brings other news of potential candidates for the job:
Other known candidates on Atlanta's list include Portland assistant Nate Tibbetts and Hornets assistant Stephen Silas -- with the Hawks on the hunt for an on-the-rise coach to grow with the young team they're assembling https://t.co/XbKG5zeOBd
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 28, 2018
Schlenk reiterated multiple times that the Hawks’ coaching search would be a longer process and would cover all their bases as they look for the next great young coach.
Stay tuned.