If Nate McMillan hadn’t replaced Lloyd Pierce on March 1, would the Atlanta Hawks have made a Conference final four months later? Probably not… At that time, the Georgia franchise was in eleventh place in the Eastern Conference, with 14 wins and 20 losses. Arrived as an assistant on November 11, 2020 after four seasons in Indiana, Nate McMillan has been named interim coach and greatly contributed to the recovery of the Hawks, who ultimately finished fifth in the East, with 27 wins and 11 losses under the orders of the new coach, who had almost the same players. After eliminating New York (4-1) and Philadelphia (4-3), Atlanta fell in the Conference final against Milwaukee (4-2), but Nate McMillan (57 in a month) will be rewarded by passing from status from interim coach to full coach.
A four-year contract for McMillan
“We are in the process of drafting the contract. We have been working together for four months. We have a good working relationship and I’m excited that he’s our main coach moving forward, said Travis Schlenk, the Hawks general manager, in a conference call. From day one he took over as interim manager, we both made the decision to go through to the end of the season before speaking. The season obviously ended the other day, and we started talking to his agents yesterday (Sunday) and came to an agreement this morning.“According to the always knowledgeable Adrian Wojnarovski fromESPN, the contract should cover the next four seasons. Former leader (or rear) of Seattle, where he spent his entire playing career from 1986 to 1998, Nate McMillan then coached the SuperSonics from 2000 to 2005, then the Portland Trail Blazers from 2005 to 2015 before taking the path of Indiana (2016-20). Always faithful to his various franchises, he will also register for the long term in Atlanta, where he will have to confirm next season.-
