NEWSLETTER
The Indiana Pacers just gave NBA teams a very intriguing coaching candidate.
On Wednesday morning, Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard announced the organization would move on from head coach Nate McMillian.
Official Statement: pic.twitter.com/l9kMqiYEXh
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) August 26, 2020
The announcement surprised plenty of NBA fans, as the Pacers finished 4th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 45-28. Not to mention, over the last two seasons, the Pacers have shown solid improvement. Not only has big man Domantas Sabonis turned into an All-Star, but the team grabbed Malcolm Brogdon in free agency and TJ Warren via trade. Both players seemed to excel under McMillian, and that only adds to the confusion.
Now, the Pacers do note McMillian’s 3-16 record in the playoffs (ouch) in their press release. Perhaps the plan all season long was to weigh his future on the team’s postseason performance and, clearly, being swept in the first round for the second year in a row didn’t cut it.
However, even with that being the case, this still feels like a very odd decision. During both of the Pacers’ recent playoff runs, they’ve had star players banged-up. Victor Oladipo opted to play at far less than 100 percent this season, and All-Star Domnatas Sabonis had to leave the bubble with a significant foot injury before even playing a game. Add the fact that – and this is the weirdest part – the Pacers gave McMillian a contract extension two weeks ago, and this is a very bizarre situation.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the extension reworked the final year of McMillian’s contract (next season) and added a team option for 2021-22. I understand that isn’t the biggest commitment, but it shows us 14 days ago the Pacers were still fully invested in McMillian as the future leader of this organization.
Anyway, unless something major happened behind the scenes that we don’t yet know about, McMillian should be somewhere near the top of most organizations’ coaching candidates list. He is now – by far – the most experienced coach on the market with 20 years under his belt (16 as a head coach). While I understand that the Bulls may be looking for a younger, up-and-coming face as their next head coach, McMillian, 56, should at least be on their radar.
Like everyone, he may have his coaching flaws, but the Pacers have still (arguably) overachieved each of his seasons in Indiana. Even if it’s simply to just pick his brain, Arturas Karnisovas would be wise to bring him in for an interview sooner than later.
On the other end of things, this of course just opens up even more competition in the NBA coaching market. The Pacers now join the Bulls, Nets, 76ers, and Pelicans in a head coaching search. Only time will tell exactly the style of coach that Indiana is looking for, but considering their solid roster, someone with experience feels like the appropriate move. Wojnarowski said that Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni is already someone the team is considering, if he’s not retained by the Rockets following this season, that is.
As a small-market team, though, it’s quite possible they’d fail to lure a heavy-hitter like D’Antoni, and therefore opt for a rising assistant. If that’s the case, they may begin to dip into the Bulls coaching list. Chicago may have the upper-hand when it comes to the market and payment (if they decide to spend their money like the major-market team they are), but Indiana is yet another team with a more complete roster to work with.
D'Antoni isn't an inexpensive hire and that'll be a question for Pacers and small market teams with league revenue stagnant in pandemic: How far will they go to pay a coach? Indiana also plans to search pool of those they'd consider 'program builders' over long-term, per sources.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 26, 2020
We’re in store for quite the interesting next few weeks.
