Former Atlanta Hawks' Head Coach Lloyd Pierce Speaks To The Media After Being Introduced By The Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers introduced Lloyd Pierce to the media on Wednesday morning. Pierce was the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks before joining the Pacers as an assistant coach on Rick Carlisle's staff.

The Indiana Pacers introduced new assistant coach Lloyd Pierce to the media on Wednesday morning over zoom. 

Pierce was the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks for the last two and a half seasons (he was fired mid-season last year after being hired in 2018). 

He now joins a new coaching staff led by former Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle. 

Pierce was an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers from 2013-18 and said that Carlisle had previously attempted to get him to join his staff. 

"Rick [Carlisle] tried to hire me away from Brett [Brown] in Philly about five or six years ago," Pierce said on Wednesday. "So That was a really kind of an eye-opening moment back then as you're trying to get established, and knowing someones trying to reach out when they have an opening." 

Some of what Pierce said during his media availability can be seen in a Tweet that is embedded below from the Pacers.

“I think in this business, your trust is earned."

📹 New assistant coach Lloyd Pierce discusses building relationships with players, joining Rick Carlisle's staff, and his takeaways from coaching against Indiana ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/z4AoXMX4rW

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) August 25, 2021

Being the head coach of the Hawks was the first time he was a head coach, and he has also been an assistant with the 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies, Cleveland Cavaliers and Santa Clara Men's Basketball. 

As a player he played professionally from 1998-02 and played in Mexico, Australia, Germany and Turkey. 

In college he was also teammates with two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash (who now is the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets). 

While he was the head coach of the Hawks they had a record of 63-120. 

This summer he won an Olympic Gold Medal for Team USA Men's Basketball as a member of their coaching staff led by Gregg Popovich.