While the Atlanta Hawks will kick off their offseason activities with at least seven workouts scheduled over the next two days, their first order of business was clearing out former head coach Nate McMillan’s staff to make way for a new staff hand-picked by Quin Snyder after he finished out the slate utilizing the old regime.
It was first reported by Zach Klein of WSB-2 Atlanta that the coaching staff would undergo an overhaul and now Michael Scotto of HoopsHype has learned of some of the new names.
Arguably the most prominent among them is Igor Kokosov but other names include Bryan Bailey, Alex Jensen, and Antonio Lang. As Scotto lays out, all of the aforementioned candidates have previous ties to Snyder.
“Jensen spent eight seasons as an assistant coach under Snyder in Utah,” Scotto wrote on May 8. “Bailey was an assistant coach during Snyder’s final two seasons in Utah and previously during the 2019-20 season. Kokosov spent three seasons in Utah as one of Snyder’s assistant coaches before becoming head coach in Phoenix for one season and then one season each as an assistant with Sacramento, Dallas, and Brooklyn. Lang spent five seasons as an assistant coach under Snyder from 2014-19 and has spent the past four seasons in Cleveland.”
The Hawks went 10-11 under Snyder but won four of their final six regular-season outings.
He assumed control after the All-Star break and two games under former interim head coach and assistant coach Joe Prunty.
This is a similar course of action that McMillan took after he assumed control following a 14-20 start under Lloyd Pierce. McMillan posted one of the best records in the league from that point on going 27-11 and guiding the Hawks to an improbable berth in the Eastern Conference Finals before dismantling and reassembling the coaching staff in his vision.
Atlanta went 43-39 in 2021-22 with McMillan at the helm and was 29-30 this past season when he was dismissed. They have to hope the previous connection to these potential incoming coaches will prevent a similar slide.
Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young announces new podcast
Even though the Hawks have been at home for just under two weeks now, star point guard Trae Young has still enjoyed the level of competition with no team holding better than a 2-1 advantage pending Game 4s between the New York Knicks and Miami Heat in the East and the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors in the West.
There has been plenty of excitement at the individual level as well with stellar showings from the likes of Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns, and James Harden whose dagger three versus the Boston Celtics saved the Philadelphia 76ers’ season.
“There was some dudes hoopin today,” Young tweeted on May 7 punctuating the sentiment with a saluting emoji.
He also announced that he would be starting the ‘From The Point Podcast’.
From the Point podcast.. by your favorite point. Coming this summer🎤 pic.twitter.com/sI2crTEvSk
— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) May 8, 2023
Young would join an ever-growing list of NBA stars – and even some role players – to have their own podcasts ranging from the most notable like Warriors star Draymond Green, New Orleans Pelicans guard (and NBPA president) C.J. McCollum, or former journeyman J.J. Redick whose ‘Old Man & the Three’ show has featured several current NBA players as guests.
Often the topic of polarizing narratives, it will be interesting to see just how far Young is willing to venture into areas he has made an effort to keep the media at bay.
There will always be some level of keeping things “in-house”. But the two-time All-Star should undoubtedly feel less of a need to be guarded when he’s answering his own questions.