The Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club has announced the promotion of Derek Pierce to General Manager of the Erie BayHawks, Atlanta’s NBA G League affiliate. In addition to his general manager responsibilities, Pierce will maintain his current role within the Hawks basketball operations team.
“We are excited to have Derek take over as General Manager of the BayHawks. He has earned this position, working his way up throughout his time in the league and is well-respected by his peers for his work ethic and eye for talent,” said Hawks General Manager and Head of Basketball Operations Travis Schlenk. “Derek understands how much we value the G League and will do a great job leading basketball operations for Erie.”
Pierce, 45, joined the Hawks at the beginning of the 2017-18 season as Atlanta’s Pro Player Personnel Scout. Prior to his role with the Hawks, Pierce spent the previous eight seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves as an advance, college and NBA personnel scout. Before joining the Timberwolves, Pierce spent three seasons as an advance scout for the Washington Wizards and two seasons as an advance scout for the Golden State Warriors. He also served as the Indiana Pacers’ video coordinator for five seasons.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity given to me by the Atlanta and Erie families. I can’t wait to get to work and continue to build off last year’s success,” Pierce said. “The G League is an invaluable resource and we’ll continue to utilize it extensively like we have in recent years. Right now, my number one goal is to work with Coach Pierce to find a head coach who shares the same vision and passion for developing players and establishing a culture of hard-working and high character players that make both the fans of Atlanta and Erie proud.”
In 2017-18, Atlanta and Erie’s first season in a one-on-one affiliation, the BayHawks captured their first-ever division title. Erie registered a 28-22 (.560) regular season record, which included a 10-2 (.833) clip against division opponents. The BayHawks won 17 of their final 24 regular season games, clinching a playoff berth for the first time since the 2011-12 season. Erie produced three NBA Call-Ups during the 2017-18 campaign – Tyler Cavanaugh, Jaylen Morris and Jeremy Evans. All three players were called up to the Atlanta Hawks. Additionally, six current Hawks were assigned to the BayHawks last season.
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