If anyone had said prior to the bubble last season that the Atlanta Hawks would be in the Eastern Conference Finals right now, they would have been laughed out of the building. Had they said it just prior to the All-Star break, they would have received the same reaction.
Then the Hawks made the move of changing their head coach and immediately their fortunes changed. They won eight straight games and the rest, as they say, is history. Nate McMillan led the Hawks to an unlikely, and unexpected, direct qualification for the playoffs, finishing in the fifth seed.
We often hear about players going from rags to riches, but it is not often that we see coaches do the same thing. McMillan was fired at the end of the last season from his head coaching role at the Indiana Pacers. He was hired as an assistant coach by the Hawks in the offseason and then became head coach prior to the All-Star break.
The Atlanta Hawks can stop looking, Nate McMillan is their man
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With all the coaching changes that have already happened in the offseason, it would have been remis of the Hawks front office not to at least look at some of the candidates. It is not often that an offseason has so many good coaches leaving their teams.
However, in half a season, McMillan has made the Hawks his team and the understanding that he seems to have with Trae Young is brilliant. He does, however, still have the interim tag next to his name which is why the question can still be asked.
To put it simply, McMillan wants to coach the team, he is happy to work out a contract in the offseason which would also suit the Hawks. They are winning at the moment and they want nothing to distract McMillan or the playing group.
The only question now is how much McMillan is going to be paid. If the Hawks keep winning, expect the value to keep climbing. He will be worth every single dollar.