Atlanta Hawks reportedly nearing addition of Mavericks assistant Melvin Hunt

Ever since Mike Budenholzer departed the Atlanta Hawks as head coach and Lloyd Pierce was announced as his replacement, there has been a question mark over the existing assistant coaches who served under Budenholzer.

When Budenholzer was confirmed to be accepting the post of head coach with the Milwaukee Bucks, it was reported that he would likely take most of his staff with him to Milwaukee, seemingly leaving Pierce with a number of assistant coach roles to fill.

On Monday evening, the first of those roles has appeared to be confirmed, with Marc Stein of the New York Post reporting that the Hawks are in “advanced discussions” to add current Mavericks assistant coach Melvin Hunt.

Hunt has been a part of the Dallas Mavericks franchise since 2015, serving as an assistant coach under Rick Carlisle. Prior to that, had taken over as head coach of the Denver Nuggets for a short period after the Nuggets parted ways with then-head coach Brian Shaw.

The connection between Pierce and Hunt seems to stem from their time together with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Hunt spending five years with the Cavaliers from 2005 to 2010 (with Pierce spending three years with the Cavs from 2007-2010).

Should negotiations go according to plan, Hunt would represent the first confirmed member of Lloyd Pierce’s staff, with the rest of Budenholzer’s staff’s futures yet to be resolved as of yet.

Stay tuned.