By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
According to Athletic’s Shams Charania, Jordi Fernandez is among the candidates to coach the Atlanta Hawks, who have fired Nate McMillan.
The 40-year-old Spanish coach, who serves as Mike Brown’s assistant at the Sacramento Kings, is on the list of six potential replacements for McMillan.
Adrian Wojnarowski first reported that former Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder could be at the top of the list but adds that Milwaukee Bucks‘ Charles Lee and Golden State Warriors‘ Kenny Atkinson are also among the candidates.
Charania added that Mike Budenholzer’s assistant Lee might be a serious candidate since he already worked in the Georgia team from 2014-2018, but also that Fernandez, Spurs assistant Mich Johnson and G League South Bay’s Miles Simon are being considered.
Jordi Fernandez began working with the Cleveland Cavaliers in a player development role, then spent a year as an assistant with their G League affiliate Canton Charge. He eventually became a head coach for two seasons.
The Spaniard then joined Denver Nuggets in 2016, where he remained an assistant for six seasons. Last summer, he went to the Kings to sit on the bench alongside Mike Brown.
Fernandez served as Sacramento’s interim head coach after Brown’s dismissal on December 14 in a 124-123 win over Toronto Raptors. He became the first coach born in Spain to be in charge of a team in an NBA game.
Two weeks later, he took over for an entire game as Mike Brown entered the NBA’s health protocols after testing positive for COVID-19.