Utah Jazz notes: Hawks joining summer league, Hornacek fired

The Atlanta Hawks will round out the field at the 2018 Utah Jazz Summer League. Also — former Jazzman Jeff Hornacek is on the outs in the Big Apple.

When news broke that the Boston Celtics would not be participating in the 2018 Utah Jazz Summer League, it was hard not to wonder about the four-team league’s future. Would the Jazz replace the C’s with another NBA team? An international squad, perhaps? Or maybe it would fold altogether.

Now, it would seem, we have our answer. Rest assured, it’s good news for Salt Lake City’s summer hoops tradition.

According to Atlanta Hawks GM Travis Schlenk, his squad will round out the field at this year’s Jazz Summer League, which will likely include the usual cast of teams. Specifically, the Jazz, San Antonio Spurs and Philadelphia 76ers.

The Hawks are no strangers to summer league competition in the Beehive State, having been regular participants in the Jazz’s old Rocky Mountain Revue. They were one of eight squads to compete in the league in 2008, the final year before it went on hiatus.

Hornacek fired by the Knicks

The Jazz missing out on the West’s No. 3 seed wasn’t the only loss that was suffered in Jazzland on Wednesday. On the other side of the country, former Jazzman Jeff Hornacek was officially relieved of his duties as head coach of the New York Knicks.

Knicks president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry informed Hornacek of their decision upon the team’s return to New York after their season-closing win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

As was the case during his earlier tenure with the Phoenix Suns, Hornacek’s turn in the Big Apple was rife with chaos. During his first season with the Knicks, Hornacek was undermined by then-team president Phil Jackson, who essentially forced him to run the Triangle Offense.

That offseason, the Knicks traded away multi-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony in a rebuilding move.

This year, his team battled injuries to key players like Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr. New York was 14-13 when Porzingis and Hardaway played together; they struggled mightily otherwise.

There was also drama in the Knicks’ locker room. Hornacek and big man Joakim Noah famously tangled and, during a January confrontation, things reportedly got physical. Noah was then more or less dismissed from the team.

Next: Jazz drop season finale to Trail Blazers

Over two seasons with the Knicks, Hornacek compiled a coaching record of 60-104.