Coaching Profile: Nate McMillan |
Coaching Profile: Nate McMillan
By Dustin Riese Not only was 2020 unkind to the sports world, but the NBA postseason bubble was unkind to several coaches. With 22 teams invited to the party with hopes of making the postseason, 16 teams were granted those spots as the playoffs got underway about a month ago. One of those teams was the Indiana Pacers, who were ousted by the Miami Heat in the first round. Despite another postseason berth, Nate McMillan is looking for new work as the Pacers elected to not retain his services beyond this season despite another strong year. The former player, now Head Coach, is still just 56 years old and has had a fair amount of success in the league. Drafted in the second round of the 1986 draft, McMillan spent his entire 13-year career with the Seattle Supersonics before retiring and entering the coaching ranks. Ironically enough, his time away from the Supersonics was short-lived as he returned a year later as an assistant coach before taking over as the head coach in 2000. McMillan went 221-183 with two postseason appearances and a division title in his final season as a head coach across his five years with the Supersonics. Following that stint with Seattle, it was off to Portland for seven seasons, where once again, he had a great deal of success. Taking over the Trailblazer coaching duties, McMillan struggled out of the gate before putting things together towards the end of his tenure. In seven years, he made the playoffs three times, including a division title in 2008 but failed to make it out of the first round in the postseason. He was fired in 2011 following a 20-23 start and finished with a 266-269 mark. Following his departure from Portland, McMillan spent a year away from the game before coming to Indiana as an assistant coach in 2013. He served that role for three seasons before returning as a head coach in 2016 for the same Pacers team. Across his four years with the Pacers, McMillan continued to show he was a strong head coach making the postseason in all four seasons. The problem is his lack of winning in the postseason as he lost in the first round all four seasons, making seven consecutive postseason appearances without a series win. Coaches are hired to be fired, and McMillan has plenty of success as a coach during the regular season. He has compiled a 661-588 record, which was anchored by his 174-136 run with Indiana. The problem has always been the postseason where McMillan is 17-36 in the playoffs, including a 3-16 mark with Indiana, where he was swept three times in four seasons. I give McMillan a ton of credit during his time in Portland as that was the first and only time he inherited a rebuilding team and turned them into an annual postseason team. While Indiana wasn't at the top of the East in any of his seasons, McMillan still took over a talented roster but failed to do a lot with that roster. This is a name that I wouldn't want the Bulls to pursue right away, but if it came down to it, I would love to see him on the bench. Chicago is longing for a coach that can bring consistency to their organization, and McMillan can undoubtedly do that during the regular season. However, regular-season success can only take you so far if you can't cut it in the postseason. Chicago is also a team that is in the middle of a rebuild and given that McMillan hasn't done that in a while, I don't think it would be an excellent fit for him. If McMillan came here as an assistant, I would be all for that because he would bring years of head coaching experience to whoever is the new coach. McMillan is never going to be a wow you type of hire, but McMillan certainly brings that to the table if the Bulls are looking for an experienced head coach. He knows how to navigate through the regular season to get to the postseason, but it is a struggle once there. If the Bulls want regular-season success, then sure why not bring him in. However, every franchise's goal is to win a title, and I don't think Chicago can do that with McMillan.
