Vaughn Ridley/Getty ImagesThe Indiana Pacers have found a replacement for former head coach Frank Vogel as The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Pacers are "finalizing a deal to promote assistant Nate McMillan to head coach."
ESPN's Marc Stein first reported the Pacers' interest in making McMillan head coach on May 5.
Vogel, 42, was let go after spending parts of six seasons as the Pacers coach. He boasted a 250-181 record, made the playoffs five times and earned two Eastern Conference Finals berths. The Pacers went 45-37 in 2015-16 despite the departures of David West, Roy Hibbert and a number of other players responsible for their defensive-minded run of success over the last half-decade.
McMillan has a strong track record as a head coach. He spent parts of 12 seasons as an NBA head coach with the Seattle SuperSonics and the Portland Trail Blazers, compiling a 478-452 record. The former Sonics point guard has five playoff appearances under his belt and was instrumental in digging Portland out of its nadir.
Bird was open before the season about wanting a more uptempo approach. Paul George began the season attempting to fit his game to a power forward role, but soon, Indiana reverted to its comfort zone.
"I like the small ball. ... I think over a period of time it would have worked a lot better," Bird said.
With versatile center Myles Turner looking like a potential star and the team boasting a relatively clean cap sheet, Bird can go to work creating a roster to his liking.
It's just counterintuitive to hire McMillan, a defensive-minded grinder, if that's really Indy's direction.
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