Why Is Hawks’ Coach Nate McMillan Fired Midseason?

On Tuesday, the Atlanta Hawks made the announcement that Nate McMillan, their head coach, had been sacked. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, assistant coach Joe Prunty is anticipated to take over in the interim.

Why Is Coach Nate McMillan Fired Midseason?

Since the 2020–21 season, McMillan, 58, has been the head coach in Atlanta. The 29-30 Hawks will finish seventh in the Eastern Conference after the All-Star break. According to ESPN, Wojnarowski, the Hawks will look for a permanent head coach while Prunty will serve as the team’s interim leader. Quin Snyder, a former head coach of the Jazz, Charles Lee, and Kenny Atkinson, an assistant coach for the Bucks and the Warriors, are other candidates.

McMillan was fired months after star player Trae Young reportedly skipped a Hawks home game in December due to an argument. On Tuesday, it wasn’t immediately obvious whether McMillan’s friendship with Young had any bearing on the decision to fire him.

In a statement, newly-promoted general manager Landry Fields said, “Decisions like these, especially in-season, are always extremely difficult, but we believe it’s in the best interest of our team to move forward with another voice leading the way.”

Friction between McMillan and Trae Young may 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 led to Young not attending a game.

The Seattle SuperSonics, Portland Trail Blazers, and Indiana Pacers were among the NBA teams McMillan managed before joining the Atlanta staff as head coach Lloyd Pierce’s assistant in 2020–21. Pierce was dismissed by the Hawks in March of that year, and McMillan served as interim head coach as they ended 27-11. The Hawks hired McMillan on a full-time basis following their unexpected run to the Eastern Conference finals, which featured a victory against the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in the second round.

In 2021–2022, Atlanta’s first full season under McMillan as head coach, the Hawks finished 43–39 and received the No. 8 seed in the East. They failed to repeat their postseason triumph from the previous season. They were defeated by the Miami Heat 4-1 in the opening round.

With the trade acquisition of All-Star guard Dejounte Murray from the San Antonio Spurs, the Hawks improved their backcourt in the summer. The Hawks sent San Antonio three first-round selections as compensation in the aggressive, win-now transaction.

The Hawks had hoped to move up into Eastern Conference contention with an All-Star backcourt of Young and Murray and a frontcourt of John Collins and Clint Capela. as opposed to that, they had a losing record before to the All-Star break and are still far behind the conference’s top tier featuring the Bucks, Celtics and 76ers.

McMillan will be temporarily replaced by assistant coach Joe Prunty. After Jason Kidd was dismissed in Milwaukee in 2018, Prunty took over as Kidd’s temporary replacement and led the Bucks to the playoffs. After the season, Milwaukee decided to employ Mike Budenholzer, a former Hawks coach.

 

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