Hawks' Lloyd Pierce Added to Gregg Popovich's Team USA Coaching Staff

Gregg Popovich added Atlanta Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce to his staff for the United States national team. 

"He has made great progression in his coaching career with stops at Cleveland, Golden State and Memphis, and then in Philadelphia before landing the head coaching job with the Hawks last year," said Jerry Colangelo, the director of USA Basketball's men's national team, in the team's official press release. "He has demonstrated the ability in particular to be an outstanding defensive coach."

Pierce joins fellow assistants Steve Kerr and Jay Wright in preparation for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, which tips off Aug. 31.

The 42-year-old is coming off his first year in charge of the Hawks. Atlanta finished 29-53, a five-win improvement over 2017-18, and 12th in the Eastern Conference.

Trae Young showed steady improvement over the course of his rookie season, averaging 19.1 points and 8.1 assists and shooting 32.4 percent from three-point range. John Collins took a big step forward in his second year as well as his scoring average climbed from 10.5 to 19.5. Collins averaged 9.8 rebounds as well, up from 7.3.

The Hawks' defensive metrics weren't great, however. They finished 28th in defensive rating (113.0) and 26th in opponent field-goal percentage (47.3), per NBA.com. But that was less an indictment of Pierce and more the unavoidable reality when relying on such a young roster.

Clearly, Pierce's reputation is coaching circles is growing quickly if he's already receiving a Team USA nod. He's in the same company as one of the greatest coaches of all time (Popovich), a three-time NBA champion (Kerr) and a two-time NCAA champion (Wright).