Mar 09, 2012; Boston, MA, USA; Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan watches from the sideline during the first quarter of the game against the Boston Celtics at the TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The rumors of interest from the Atlanta Hawks in Stan Van Gundy this past week predictably created quite a buzz. He is the coach most envision should they desire one with much recent success and availability. But from out of the blue, another name has emerged for the soon to be vacant head coaching position. Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that the Hawks interviewed Nate McMillan on Wednesday, which came as a shock to many since his name had dodged the many rumors surrounding the situation.

McMillan can claim a similar recency in success as compared to Van Gundy. McMillan is known for his defensive reputation and grindingly slow style of play. He has split his coaching career between Seattle, starting in 2000, and Portland from 2005 until his release in 2012. He has a career 51.4% winning percentage but has only made the Conference Semifinals once, in his 2004-05 season with the Sonics, in 5 career postseason appearances. Like Van Gundy, he spent the last season on the shelf but now looks to be raring to coach again. He has also already interviewed with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Detroit Pistons, according to Wojnarowski.

May 2, 2012; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy during the fourth quarter of game three in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at the Amway Center. Indiana defeated Orlando 97-74. Mandatory Credit: Douglas Jones-USA TODAY Sports

There have been a number of names that have crossed the rumor mill for the seemingly soon-to-be vacant Atlanta Hawks head coaching position. First, Mike Budenholzer of Gregg Popovich’s San Antonio coaching tree and then Quin Snyder with connections to General Manager Danny Ferry although way back to Duke in the 1980s have been passed around as a possible view into GM Danny Ferry’s short list of replacements for Larry Drew.

Now, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports has a report that Atlanta is interested in Stan Van Gundy. He last coached with the Orlando Magic from 2007 to 2012, a run that included an NBA Finals appearance. Wojnarowski even speculates that his hiring could help lure Dwight Howard to Atlanta.

The Hawks plan to make a hard push for free-agent center Dwight Howard on July 1, and there’s some belief that Van Gundy could actually turn out to be a benefit in recruiting Howard back to his hometown. [...] Howard has expressed some sentiment that he better appreciates Van Gundy as a head coach, despite their clashes together in Orlando that ultimately led to the coach’s firing after the 2011-12 season.

Van Gundy would be the first Hawks hiring with previous head coaching experience since Lenny Wilkens in 1994. Van Gundy previously coached the Miami Heat from 2003 to 2006, ending when Pat Riley took over the team in 2006 midseason. That season culminated in Riley bringing a championship to Miami-Dade County. Van Gundy has a career record of 371-208 for a winning percentage of 64.1% and numerous other accolades in his career on an NBA bench.

May 1, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Atlanta Hawks coach Larry Drew reacts on the sidelines against the Indiana Pacers in game five of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeats Atlanta 106-83. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

On the morning of Monday May 7, the writing was on the wall for the departure of coach Larry Drew and his staff from their employment with the Atlanta Hawks.

Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports is reporting that Drew and company have “begun exploring other job opportunities in anticipation of the possibility they won’t be retained”. This news wouldn’t be utterly shocking in Drew’s case, as the Hawks seemed to have plateaued a bit under his leadership, and his infamous relationship with Josh Smith never seems to be on solid ground.

Frankly, the criticism of Larry Drew (on the whole) has been pretty unfounded. Drew has guided the Hawks to a .557 winning percentage during the regular season (128-102), and did so this season without the services of Joe Johnson (traded pre-season), Lou Williams (torn ACL), and Zaza Pachulia (achilles) for much of the year. In fact, I even gave Drew a mock “Coach of the Year” vote for getting this version of the Hawks to the #6 seed in the Eastern Conference despite having exactly six proven rotational players.

With the Hawks in full rebuilding mode, however, Drew’s tenure has come into scrutiny as a result of the early exit from the playoffs coupled with a huge summer for free agency on the horizon. There is a working theory that coaches can do a lot to draw top-level talent, and if the Hawks are actually (there’s debate on this) in the market for a giant star such as Chris Paul or Dwight Howard, Danny Ferry could conceivably allow some input from those players on a potential hire.

Danny Ferry will reportedly make his final decision by the end of the week, and there is much debate to be had on whether Drew “deserves” to keep his job (or be extended) past July 1st. With that said, there are clear signs of an exit for Drew, and if he does indeed depart, it will be time to look forward toward a “new era” in Atlanta.

Stay tuned.

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