Nate McMillan fired: Why losing record, friction with Trae Young forced Hawks’ midseason coaching change
Things are different on the sidelines when the Hawks start the second half of their season on Friday.
Atlanta on Tuesday fired coach Nate McMillan, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, firing the coach who took over on an interim basis in 2021 and led the team to the Eastern Conference Finals during his tenure.
McMillan replaced Lloyd Pierce in March 2021, sparking an immediate about-face that culminated in the deep playoff run. The last two seasons haven’t been so smooth as Atlanta faces another challenging road back to the playoffs this year after narrowly slipping in last spring.
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The Hawks represented the fourth station as head coach in McMillan’s well-travelled career. He previously had head coaching appearances in Seattle, Portland and Indiana. McMillan was missing a 100 win in Atlanta.
Here’s what you need to know about why the Hawks fired McMillan midseason.
Why did the Hawks fire Nate McMillan?
The 2022-23 season came with higher expectations for the Hawks following an offseason trade for Dejounte Murray. While the end of the 2020-21 season might have been an overachievement, 2021-22 was largely viewed as an underachievement after Atlanta needed two wins in the play-in round to advance to the playoffs.
Though their core is much healthier than it has been in years past (all five starters have played at least 40 games), the results for the Hawks this season just haven’t been there. Atlanta sits eighth in the Eastern Conference, 29-30, and lost its last two games before the All-Star break.
In a statement, newly promoted general manager Landry Fields said: “Decisions like this, especially during the season, are always extremely difficult, but we believe it’s in our team’s best interest to move forward with a different voice.”
The friction between McMillan and Trae Young could be a reason for the Hawks’ lack of progress. The Athletic reported in December that the Hawks were managing “simmering issues” between McMillan and Young, adding that an exchange between the two resulted in Young not attending a game.
McMillan told reporters the incident was a “misunderstanding.”
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The Athletic later reported in December that McMillan “strongly considered stepping down from his position” given the friction in the dressing room. While the Hawks firmly denied the report, McMillan responded by admitting he would consider retiring after the season. This decision was apparently made for him on Tuesday.
It was reported that Young was “on board” with the decision to fire Pierce in 2021, making McMillan the second coach to be dropped midseason, in part due to the Hawks’ star point guard.
The Hawks hope Prunty can spark the same turnaround McMillan pulled off two years ago, but there are some reported options for the franchise if he’s not the long-term fix.
Who will replace Nate McMillan as Hawks head coach?
Assistant coach Joe Prunty will replace McMillan on an interim basis. Prunty previously temporarily replaced Jason Kidd in Milwaukee when Kidd was fired in 2018 and led the Bucks to the playoffs. Milwaukee eventually hired former Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer after the season.
Quin Snyder, Charles Lee and Kenny Atkinson will reportedly all be candidates to watch in Atlanta. All three have ties to the Hawks.
Snyder served as an assistant in Atlanta during Budenholzer’s first season, while Atkinson and Lee both served time as assistants under Budenholzer. Atkinson was the Nets head coach from 2016-2020 and took the job as head coach of the Hornets last offseason before reversing course and staying with the Warriors.
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The Athletic’s Shams Charania also reports that Kings assistant Jordi Fernnadez, Spurs assistant Mitch Johnson and G-League coach Miles Simon are also being considered by the Hawks.
The Hawks may not be able to actively pursue most candidates until the season is over, though Snyder is on the open market after retiring in Utah last year.
Contract with Nate McMillan
McMillan signed a four-year contract when the Hawks lifted his interim tag in 2021, giving him two more full seasons on his contract after 2022-23.
Atlanta will pay both McMillan and his new head coach next season.