Nick Van Exel to join Hawks as assistant coach

The Atlanta Hawks are bringing in a high-profile name to serve as assistant coach on Nate McMillan’s staff.

As first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Hawks are adding former All-Star guard Nick Van Exel as an assistant coach. Van Exel has ample experience in player development, having served as a head coach in the G League and previously spending three seasons as a player development instructor for the Hawks.

Van Exel finished in the top 15 on the league assists charts in eight of his 13 NBA seasons. He has previously been mentioned as a candidate for a fairly prominent college coaching position.

It’s easy to see the addition of Van Exel as potentially beneficial for Trae Young. Young already has the mentality you’d want from a superstar, and the hope is that Van Exel, an expert point guard and passer himself, might be able to add more polish to Young’s game.