Source: Pacers closing on McMillan as head coach
The Indiana Pacers are working to complete a deal to make assistant coach Nate McMillan the team’s new head coach, a source told The Undefeated’s Marc Spears.
The Vertical first reported Saturday that the two sides were finalizing a deal.
The Pacers chose not to renew Frank Vogel’s contract last week after the team’s Game 7 loss to the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the playoffs.
McMillan, 51, has been an assistant coach with Indiana since 2013. He previously was head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers from 2005 to ’12, and the Seattle Sonics from 2000 to ’05. McMillan’s ties to Pacers general manager Kevin Pritchard extend back to their days in Portland, where Pritchard was GM from 2007 to ’10.
Vogel had a 250-181 regular-season record and a 31-30 playoff record in six seasons as Pacers coach. The team averaged 102.2 points per game in the 2015-16 regular season, which was 17th in the NBA, and 93.7 per game in the postseason, which was 12th out of 16 teams.
Pacers president Larry Bird emphasized that he wants the 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,” he 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.”
McMillan also interviewed last week for the head-coaching job in Sacramento. The Kings hired Dave Joerger earlier this week.
