12:01pm: It’s official, according to a team press release. McMillan has been extended for one additional year, through the 2021/22 NBA season, per J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star.
7:17am: The Pacers have reached an agreement on a contract extension with head coach Nate McMillan, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Monetary terms of the new deal aren’t yet known, but McMillan previously had one year left on his contract. According to Wojnarowski, the two sides finalized the new agreement in recent days.
It was just last week that rumors surfaced about McMillan’s job security, with ESPN analysts Jeff Van Gundy and Zach Lowe noting on a podcast that they had heard whispers about the veteran head coach being on the hot seat. At the time, Lowe stressed that the Pacers had been consistent in denying those rumors — based on today’s news, it seems the team was serious about sticking with McMillan.
The former head coach of the SuperSonics and Trail Blazers, McMillan took over the top job in Indiana in 2016, receiving a promotion to replace Frank Vogel after spending three years as an assistant on Vogel’s staff.
McMillan has guided the Pacers to a 181-136 (.571) record over the last four seasons, earning four consecutive playoff berths. Indiana’s 43-28 (.606) mark this season represents the club’s highest winning percentage since 2013/14.
The Pacers haven’t yet won a playoff series under McMillan, and there had been some chatter about a need to modernize the team’s offense, which ranks last this season in three-point attempts per game (27.8).
However, as Wojnarowski notes in his report, the 56-year-old is well-respected around the NBA and has been lauded in recent years for maximizing the Pacers’ roster despite losing star forward Paul George – who requested a trade in 2017 – and dealing with a handful of major injuries, including the torn quad tendon that sidelined Victor Oladipo for a full year.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
But I thought he was on the hot seat? Man, it almost seems like you needed to find this “source” so your story has a bit of credibility. Almost like you made up the source…..
This was not directed at the people writing here. I’m taking about writers at espn, the ringer, etc.
Bubble TJ Warren got this man a job extension
He was never on the hot seat. And the Pacers fan knows he was well regarded with the organization. This was to Talking Heads just trying to cause trouble. They have to make news every hour of every day.
The rumors didn’t even make any sense. It’s not like Indiana has vastly underachieved every season like Philly. If anything, it seems McMillan has gotten the most out of players such as Oladipo, Warren, and Sabonis
He’s a solid coach. There will always be rumors. Like poster said. Talking heads need stuff to talk about. Gotta admit Warren was a great find. he deserves it. No Oladipo Pacers did well.
Yeah, those rumors were about a year premature. McMillan is well liked in the organization, and was essentially given a pass for this season due to the Oladipo injury. So no matter what happens in the playoffs, he wasn’t getting fired.
The extension is pretty much to make sure he doesn’t have lame-duck status this off season and next year.
Odd fact: the Pacers have fired a coach mid-season one time (Jim O’Brien, 2011) in the past 28 years. So unless the Pacers are terrible next season, McMillan is safe until after next year’s playoffs. Another first round exit and he’s done.