Has Nate McMillan boosted his stock high enough to land one of the NBA's most-coveted jobs?
The Atlanta Hawks interim coach is an "under-the-radar contender" to succeed Brad Stevens as head coach of the Boston Celtics, according to Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer. After the Hawks fired Lloyd Pierce in March and replaced him with McMillan, they shot to a fifth-place regular-season finish in the Eastern Conference and now unexpectedly are tied 2-2 with the Philadelphia 76ers in their second-round NBA playoffs series. Most expect the Hawks to offer McMillan their head-coaching job on a permanent basis, but there's no certainty over where he'll accept it, especially if more lucrative opportunities arise.
"With that, Nate McMillan is an under-the-radar contender to become Boston's 18th head coach in franchise history," Fischer wrote. "All indications are that Atlanta will remove the interim tag from McMillan's title and offer an extension, sources said. Yet until that deal is agreed upon, there remains a potential for McMillan to benefit from his successful stint guiding the Hawks through this postseason and test the market elsewhere."
The Celtics' search for a coach is shaping up to be extensive, perhaps even exhaustive. Boston hasn't determined finalists, and the process might continue for "a few more weeks" because several candidates are still coaching in the NBA playoffs, according to The Boston Globe.
So all we can do at this point is add McMillan to the reported-contenders list, which shows no sign of shrinking as the Celtics' offseason unfolds.
