Hawks Make Three Key Hires to Quin Snyder's Coaching Staff Ahead of 2026-2027 Season

The Hawks announced three new coaching hires today, but what will their roles be?

Apr 23, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder on the sideline against the New York Knicks in the first quarter during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Atlanta Hawks announced three new coaching hires today.

Former Bucks assistant coach Jason Love is going to be one of the new faces joining Snyder's staff this season. Love, who played at Xavier from 2006 to 2010, also spent time with the Philadelphia 76ers for five seasons before taking the position with the Bucks.

The most notable hire for Snyder is Euorpean coaching legend Ettore Messina as a coaching consultant. During his time as a head coach in Eurpope, Messina won four EuroLeague championships, has won mutliple Italian and Russian league championships, coached the Italian national team to a silver medal at EuroBasket 1997, and earned numerous Coach of the Year honors. When it comes to the specifics of a coaching consultant role, it is not known what Messina will be doing on a day-to-day basis, but having someone with this kind of resume to talk to and have for advice is not a bad thing by any means.

The third hire that was announced today by the organization was Sergi Oliva, who is going to be a basketball strategy and development advisor to Atlanta. Oliva was with the Portland Trail Blazers for the past four seasons as their assistant general manager and G League head coach. Before the Trail Blazers, Oliva also spent time with the Philadelphia 76ers for six seasons.

The Hawks have had some notable departures from their coaching staff and front office since last season.

In the front office, Bryson Graham has taken the lead executive role with the Chicago Bulls after spending just one season with the Hawks. Former assistant general manager Kyle Korver departed the organization a few weeks ago as well, and Atlanta promoted Peter Dinwiddie to the No. 2 position as executive vice president of basketball operations. Former ESPN analyst Tim Bontemps was hired as a senior advisor, and Maxwell Kupchak has been elevated to the role of director of cap strategy & player personnel.

Before the season even ended, former assistant coach Ronald Nored took the head coaching position at his alma mater Butler.

Will all of these changes make a positive impact on the Hawks this upcoming season? That is to be determined, but one thing you can discern from this offseason is that ownership has belief in the vision that Onsi Saleh and Quin Snyder have for the franchise. They were both awarded with contract extensions and in Saleh's case, he was given the title of President of Basketball Operations. Saleh was the runner up for executive of the year award last season and he has this franchise on the right path heading into the 2026-2027 season.