http://www.csnnw.com/blazers/mcmill...-reflects-tenure-regrets-how-he-handled-batum Good read, interesting tidbit I'll never like Nate as a coach, but there's no doubt that he's a class act.
I thought the Oregonian article by Joe Freeman actually was more thorough, and more honest in terms of getting words from Nate. http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i...lan_returns_to_portland_content_with_pac.html About Batum...
I think Nate deserves a huge round of applause when he is announced. Whatever his flaws as a coach, he guided the club out of the Jailblazer era and into 50 win seasons. And he did it with professionalism and class indeed.
Most definitely a class act. I still remember the page add he took out in the paper thanking the fans after he was fired.
I was in the Rose Garden the night he got fired. It was the first day of the 2011 NCAA games at what was then the RG. It got announced late in the night during the fourth game of day one, which was a Thursday, I believe.
The fans should cheer him when he's announced, because he was a class act. They should cheer even louder after we beat the Pacers
Wanna bet? Nate definitely has more to learn but with the shortage of good coaches these days he'll get a shot somewhere at sometime.
So he starts batum instead of Wallace, deflating Wallace's trade value so we can't get Brooklyns 2012 pick. With better protection on it we get it in 2013 instead, somewhere in the 20's. The Nets take big name Harrison Barnes and the Warriors get the hometown kid in Lillard. With Barnes in the mix and a lineup of Williams, Johnson, Wallace, Humphries and Lopez with Barnes as the 6th man. With Barnes in the mix they don't include Pierce in the boston trade and don't have to send over all those 1sts for KG. The Warriors still go after Iggy to help their wing defense and move Lillard to 6th man. With no Lillard in Portland the future is bleak & Aldridge goes through with his trade demand. We do the rumored Cleveland deal for Tristan Thompson, #1 & #19. We are then building around Thompson, Batum, Matthews and presumably Oladipo with no hope in sight at PG or Center. So with all of this being said it was absolutely the right move to start Wallace over Batum in order to increase his trade value. Don't feel bad Nate you did what was best for the franchise, even if we didn't know it at the time. TL;DR: Nate McMillan was not the coach we deserved but the coach we needed. Nothing less than a knight. Shining.
I think Nate will get a nice round of applause tonight. I know I will applaud him. MM won't be there so he shouldn't have to worry.
I'm gonna be PISSED if a bunch of people boo Nate tonight. Say what you want about his basketball philosophy, he took over a coach's nightmare of a roster while it was being burned to the ground, and restored the authority, dignity, character, and integrity of the position. I wonder where KP will sit tonight...
I already read a few days ago pn this board that McMillan said he shouldn't have started Gerald Wallace. Old news Also, he's wrong. Meek little Batum sucked compared to Wallace, who played like a man.
And shot like a child on the road. I really liked Wallace, but playing him because of his contract size rather than because him being the best fit was a mistake. I have to respect Nate for being able to admit that.
KP should buy the exact seat that Paul Allen banished him to late in the 2010 season. Nobody puts KP in the corner except KP.
Smart of Nate to try and weasel his way into the head coaching position in Indiana. I just think Vogel won't choke and give it up.
