PHOENIX, AZ - JANUARY 14: Head coach Nate McMillan of the Portland Trail Blazers during the NBA game against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center on January 14, 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns defeated the Trail Blazers 115-111.
The Indiana Pacers are reportedly set to announce the promotion of assistant Nate McMillan to head coach, according to Yahoo Sports.
The news comes just nine days after the Pacers fired head coach Frank Vogel following the team’s loss to the No. 2 seed Toronto Raptors in Game 7 of the first round of the NBA playoffs. Vogel had been Indiana’s head coach since 2011.
McMillan had been Vogel’s top assistant for the past three years. This will be his third head-coaching job in the NBA. He had a five-season stint with the Seattle SuperSonics (2000-05) and was on the Portland Trail Blazers’ sideline for seven seasons (2011-12). McMillan’s career record as a head coach is 478-452. His teams have advanced to the playoffs five times but have never made it past the second round. His playoff record is 14-20.
McMillan, 51, interviewed for the job with Pacers officials late in the week, and after officially receiving the offer, both sides were laying out contract terms on Saturday, sources said. He also interviewed for the head-coaching job with the Sacramento Kings, who hired Dave Joerger earlier in the week.
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Across seven seasons as the Blazers’ coach, McMillan had a .497 winning percentage and advanced to the first round of the Western Conference playoffs in 2009, ’10 and ’11. He was fired in 2012.
This season, the Pacers won 45 games and earned the seventh seed.
Pacers president Larry Bird has emphasized that he wants his team to play faster. McMillan, though, has a reputation as a defensive-minded coach.
“I’d like to score more points than what we’re scoring,” Bird said. “Defense with [assistant coach] Dan Burke has been great, like it has been every year. It’s all about scoring points. If your defense is better, you don’t have to score as many, but you’d like to score as many as you can.”
PHOTO: PHOENIX, AZ – JANUARY 14: Head coach Nate McMillan of the Portland Trail Blazers during the NBA game against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center on January 14, 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns defeated the Trail Blazers 115-111.
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