Report: Key member of Cavs organization joining Hawks

Antonio Lang is reportedly leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers to join Quin Snyder’s staff on the Atlanta Hawks.

Just a few days ago, it was reported that Lang had emerged as a candidate to join Snyder in Atlanta. After joining the Hawks midway through the 2022-23 season, Snyder is replacing nearly his entire staff.

Lang, who is set to turn 51 in a few days, spent the past four seasons with the Cavaliers as an assistant coach. Before making his way to Cleveland, he spent five seasons with the Utah Jazz.

The Alabama native has a decent amount of history with the Cavs franchise, as he had two separate stints with the Wine and Gold during his playing days. Lang played for the team during the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons and had a short stint with the Miami Heat before returning to Cleveland in the 1998-99 campaign.

The Duke University product’s playing career wasn’t all that noteworthy, but he’s found a way to keep himself around the game since retiring.

Now that Lang is back alongside Snyder in Atlanta, it’ll be interesting to see what type of role he gets. The two worked together for many years on the Jazz, so it seems likely that Lang will have some type of prominent role.

The Hawks are coming off a 2022-23 campaign in which they went 41-41 during the regular season and lost in the first round of the NBA Playoffs to the Boston Celtics.

Atlanta shocked the world by upsetting the Heat in the play-in tournament, but they weren’t able to use that momentum to make it far in the playoffs.

Perhaps some roster changes are on the horizon. The Hawks swung big in trading for Dejounte Murray last offseason, but they wound up winning two less games this season compared to last season.

With tons of contenders in the Eastern Conference not going away, Atlanta is going to have to make some moves if it wants to make it far in future postseasons.

Snyder hiring his own coaching staff is a step in the right direction for the franchise. It seems like more changes will soon take place.

Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff is surely already working hard to replace Lang.