Atlanta Hawks to interview Stephen Silas for head coaching vacancy, per report

Per a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Atlanta Hawks will interview Stephen Silas today for their head coach position that was recently vacated by Mike Budenholzer after the team and the five-year head coach came to a buyout agreement.

Silas has been around the league for almost 20 years, despite his young age. He was first hired as a scout with the Charlotte Hornets while he father, Paul Silas, was the head coach of the team and has stuck around in various assistant positions since then, moving with the team to New Orleans before taking off for Cleveland, Washington, and Golden State before returning to Charlotte in 2010 to once again work with his father.

In 2017-18, Silas continued his work as Steve Clifford’s lead assistant and was promoted to the interim head coach position when Clifford was forced away from the team with an illness. Silas is known for his ability to connect with players and was a strong consideration in Houston’s search for their next head coach in 2016 before they hired Mike D’Antoni.

Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk repeated numerous times in his media availability just after Budenholzer was released from his contract that the process for finding Atlanta’s next head coach will be a long one and that he expects to interview multiple coaches around the league. Reports indicate that the Hawks are looking for an up-and-coming young coach to grow with their young roster as they rebuild, a classification that Silas certainly fits.