The Atlanta Hawks made the right call on Nate McMillan. It has been obvious almost from the time that he took over that he was going to be the next official head coach for the franchise. It was only ever a question of when.
However, the interim tag remained next to his name right through the second half of the season.
McMillan instilled a sense of belief into his team which helped take the team from eleventh in the Eastern Conference standings when he took over, to the fifth seed. It was one of the most unlikely stories in basketball this season, some might say a Cinderella story.
Then, despite the Hawks not having the home-court advantage for any of their playoff matchups, they won two of their series. They took the Milwaukee Bucks to six games without their superstar for two if them, and it stemmed back to the systems and structures employed by McMillan.
The Atlanta Hawks look likely to remain at the top of the NBA for a number of seasons.
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The Hawks have some members of their core locked in for a number of seasons. They are going to extend Trae Young and Kevin Huerter this offseason which will benefit the franchise no end. John Collins has also said that he would like to stick around.
On top of that, according to Woj of ESPN, they have signed McMillan to a four-year deal. This is huge for the club as he already has a real connection to the team’s superstar and point guard, Young. What he can help Young develop into is going to be exciting to see.
On top of that, he has shown that he can take a solid frontcourt and turn them into a winning outfit. He had Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis when he was the head coach of the Indiana Pacers and he has Clint Capela and Collins in Atlanta.
There are most probably going to be some offseason moves come in the next month or so with the draft and free agency. However, whatever the makeup of the team, give McMillan a full offseason where he can work with all the players and the Hawks will be so much stronger next season, and hopefully for many seasons to come.