The Atlanta Hawks have hired former All-Star and longtime assistant coach Nick Van Exel as an assistant to work under head coach Nate McMillan, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Wojnarowski also tweeted that Van Exel will be replacing Marlon Garnett, who recently accepted a position as a member of the Charlotte Hornets' coaching staff.

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Van Exel, a 13-year veteran who played for a fifth of the league's teams (Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs), has also been an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks, Memphis Grizzlies and those same Atlanta Hawks. He brings nearly 40 years of combined basketball experience to a team that made a surprise run to the Eastern Conference Finals last season.

Van Exel was a dynamic combo guard known for his speed back when he was a player. “Nick the Quick” posted career averages of 14.4 points and 6.6 assists.  As a scoring guard, he could bring veteran leadership for the development of the 22-year-old Trae Young, who averaged 25.3 points and 9.4 assists last season for the 41-31 Hawks. Van Exel could also mentor point guard Sharife Cooper, whom the Hawks drafted with the no. 48 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.