NC State Wolfpack: Report – McMillan to become Pacers Coach
NC State Wolfpack alum Nate McMillan may be poised to reenter the head coaching ranks in the NBA.
NC State Wolfpack veteran Nate McMillan was once the coach of an NBA franchise. Twice in fact. So now it would be time for the third movie in the trilogy, right?
According to reports from ESPN’s Marc J. Spears, the Indiana Pacers will promote their current assistant coach into the head coaching vacancy created when the Pacers decided not to renew Frank Vogel’s contract.
McMillan spent two years at NC State in the mid-eighties before playing twelve years in the NBA. He spent that time as the sixth man of the Seattle Supersonics. In his role as the backup point guard, McMillan was in a good position to learn how to run a team. He also was known for his defense and had his jersey retired by the Sonics.
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His leadership gained him an assistant coaching position with the Sonics following retirement in 1998. Two years later he was given the head coaching position. McMillan ran the Ray Allen–Rashard Lewis Sonics from 2000-2005. The team won 52 games in his final season but the franchise essentially blew up the next year. Allen was traded to Boston and the franchise was well on its way to Oklahoma City.
McMillan however landed next door in Portland to rebuild the post-Jail Blazer team. He got better results each season as Portland added Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge. The Trailblazers also started developing a player named Nicolas Batum. The last Trailblazer teams brought in Gerald Wallace and Raymond Felton to try to get over the top.
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Injuries also were prevalent in McMillan’s tenure. Roy eventually broke down while Greg Oden never materialized. After a 54 win season, the Blazers went 20-23 in the first part of the 2011-2 season and McMillan was dumped at that point. McMillan served with the US Mens National Team as an assistant before joining the Pacers in 2013.
Pacers president Larry Bird said that no coach deserves more than three years. Bringing in McMillan shows that Bird is interested in at least some continuity with the current Pacers roster. McMillan will have the services of star Paul George at his command. Hopefully he can mold a team around George to compete in the Eastern Conference.
Like the Hornets, the Pacers will add a piece through the NBA Draft at the end of June