After spending the past five seasons with the Utah Jazz, assistant coach Antonio Lang has accepted an offer to join the staff of new Cavaliers head coach John Beilein, it was announced Wednesday.
According to reports, the move will put Lang in the Cavs’ second assistant chair — a promotion over his position in Utah. After starting off as a developmental coach with the Jazz, Lang was moved to the front bench before the 2018-19 season.
Lang joined the Jazz in 2014, when head coach Quin Snyder hired him after seeing his work as head coach of the Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins in Japan’s National Basketball League. Lang spent four seasons as the Dolphins’ head coach, and four more before that as their assistant.
“First, I want to recognize the great opportunity for growth that Coach Snyder and the Jazz organization have provided. It has been a first-class organization to be a part of and I thank them for what has been a great experience,” Lang said in a statement. “Coming back to Cleveland, a place that I really enjoyed and appreciated when I played here, was a great opportunity as well and one that I felt was a special fit for my basketball journey.”
After reaching three Final Fours in his four years at Duke, Lang was drafted No. 29 overall by the Phoenix Suns in 1994. He would go on to play 143 games over the next six seasons with Phoenix, Cleveland, Miami, Toronto, and Philadelphia.
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