The Indiana Pacers relieved Nate McMillan of his coaching duties on Wednesday, two days after the team was swept out of the first round of the playoffs for a second straight year.
The stunning move also comes just 14 days after the Pacers extended McMillan's contract by one year through the 2021-22 season.
McMillan spent four seasons in Indiana and led the Pacers to the playoffs in each of those campaigns, but the team failed to win a postseason series over that period. Indiana was 3-16 in playoff games during his tenure and was swept in three series, including this year's matchup with the Miami Heat.
"This was a very hard decision for us to make; but we feel it's in the best interest of the organization to move in a different direction," Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said in a statement.
Official Statement: pic.twitter.com/l9kMqiYEXh
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) August 26, 2020
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A potential replacement for McMillan would be current Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni — in the final year of his contract — will be an Indiana target should he become available, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 26, 2020
D'Antoni isn't an inexpensive hire and that'll be a question for Pacers and small market teams with league revenue stagnant in pandemic: How far will they go to pay a coach? Indiana also plans to search pool of those they'd consider 'program builders' over long-term, per sources.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 26, 2020
McMillan compiled a regular season record of 183-136 with the Pacers while often saddled with injuries or defections to top players. He guided Indiana to 48 wins — six more than the previous season — in 2017-18 after the organization traded All-Star Paul George to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Pacers matched that win total the following year despite leading scorer Victor Oladipo missing over half the season with a ruptured quadriceps tendon. With Oladipo limited to only 19 games in 2019-20 while recovering from that injury, the Pacers finished 45-28 and were the Eastern Conference's number four playoff seed.
McMillan has gone 661-588 in 16 overall seasons as an NBA head coach with the Seattle SuperSonics (2000-05), Portland Trail Blazers (2005-12) and Indiana. The 56-year-old also worked alongside Pritchard, the former Trail Blazers' general manager, during his time with Portland.
"Nate and I have been through the good times and the bad times; and it was an honor to work with him for those 11 years (in Indiana and Portland)," Pritchard stated.