The Atlanta Hawks fired head coach Nate McMillan on Tuesday after two straight disappointing seasons as the full-time head coach and named Joe Prunty as the interim. McMillan helped lead the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals in the interim role back in 2021, was named head coach and has since clashed with his biggest star, Trae Young, and hovered around .500 with a talented roster.
A change was expected.
Well, it sure looks like Young has a name in mind to be the next Hawks head coach.
On Wednesday, Young posted a series of photos on Instagram with the caption, “One thing we can never get back, Time! ~Don’t waste it~” It seemed to be a veiled message to the Hawks, and interestingly enough, Young was wearing a Phoenix Suns Steve Nash jersey in a few of the photos.
— Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) February 22, 2023
The image of Young wearing a Suns jersey was a bit jarring at first glance. After all, there had been rumblings earlier this season about a potential Trae Young trade.
But this really appeared to be about Nash more than anything else. Nash was Young’s favorite player growing up. And despite Nash’s shaky tenure in Brooklyn and critical comments about Young’s foul-hunting moves, he would be a head coach who would immediately have Trae’s respect.
NBA fans certainly read into the post as Young lobbying for a Nash hire.