<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">McMILLAN A FREE AGENT: Not only is Seattle's best player scheduled to be a free agent, the team's coach also will be. The contract of Nate McMillan expires after the season. The Nuggets may make a run at him. "It's a situation where right now I'm focusing on this job," said McMillan, when asked about Denver's situation. "We'll see what happens." McMillan and Seattle's management have agreed not to discuss a possible new contract until after the season. For this season, if the SuperSonics have the best record in the West on Feb. 6, McMillan will coach the West at the Feb. 20 NBA All-Star Game in Denver. Assistant coach Dean Demopoulos reminded him of that Tuesday. "I hate he did that," McMillan said. "That gives me something else I should be thinking about."</div> <font size="1">Full Story courtesy of Chris Tomasson and the Rocky Mountain News.</font> Not a lot in this, and it's good to see Nate getting a good reputation for the job he's doing, but it does represent the risks of leaving contract talks until expiration.
I'm sure that a bunch of teams who will have coaching vacancies will consider Nate McMillian following this season. Nate is establishing himself in his contract year as one of the top young coaches in the NBA. I personally think that the Sonics will have no problem letting McMillian walk if money is the determining factor in the negotiation process. With all of the impending free agent players that management has to deal with, I seriously doubt that they will put a high emphasis on making sure that McMillian is paid like a top notch coach. I'm guessing that they will give him the opportunity to come back w/ a contract similiar to the contract that he signed back in the 2000 offseason~probably offering him a slight raise. If McMillian starts demanding to be paid more, then I'm sure that Wally and Howard will not have a problem giving a young inexpensive coach the opportunity to run the show. Considering the fact that nearly all of McMillian professional career has been spent in the city of Seattle I'm guessing that he will be reluctant to try to change venues. I'm still certain that the Sonics are indeed for sale and at this moment in time I think that they are looking to cut costs at all costs. That is why Howard and Wally have been surprisingly quiet throughout this entire period of excellent ball played by the Supes. If it were up to me I would say good riddance to Nate. I would hope that he would be judged throughout his entire tenure w/ the Sonics as opposed to only this season. He is, in my mind, hands down the Coach of the Year to this point. I'm just not foolish enough to believe that he deserves a contract extension based upon 37 games (and it seems as if neither is Sonics management). There is a very good chance that we could again be in rebuilding mode following this season if many of our impending free agents decide to move on. I don't think that McMillian has the patience nor the talent to rear a young, inexperienced squad into prominence in the next four years. Although many of our younger players are promising, w/o possibly having Ray, Antonio, Vlad, Reggie, Jerome, Pot, and Flip there is a good chance that McMillian will be essentially starting from scratch next season. Money talks in the NBA, and as much as people are praising the Sonics for their teamwork and camroderie, the bottom line is that these free agents are going to jump at the chance to have a larger role and a larger bank account. If the Sonics are going to be frugal b/c of a potential sale, then whomever the coach will be next season better have a long term plan and a lot of patience. Doesn't sound like Nate to me.
Shiek a year from now when the Sonics are sold, three years after he predicted it: "I told you they were for sale!" Same team, Nate. Rebuilding, Dwayne. Seems logical to me. I wouldn't want Nate around for a rebuilding team, honestly. He'd work better with veterans.
