Indiana Pacers Looking to Hire From Golden State Warriors’ Coaching Staff: REPORTS

The Indiana Pacers had an unforgiving playoff experience in the NBA bubble. They were mercilessly swept by Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat in the first round, and the management took a stern decision of firing head coach Nate McMillan. His position is yet to be filled, and there’s a new update on the Pacers’ coaching hunt. 

It’s been a few weeks since the Pacers fired McMillan. They’re still looking out for potential candidates, who can do a good job with the franchise. As per Adrian Wojnarowski, the Pacers have listed Mike Brown as their next target. Brown is now an associate head coach with the Golden State Warriors. 

Mike Brown has plenty of head coaching experience. The 50-year-old served as the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers for five years and then moved to the Lakers in 2011, where he spent one season. 

Brown has a regular-season coaching record of 347-216. He even guided the Cavs to the NBA finals in 2007, and has a 47-36 playoff record and has plenty of postseason experience under his belt. 

Moreover, former Warriors HC Mark Jackson is also a name to look out for in the Pacers’ coaching hunt. However, Mike Brown is the more experienced candidate, and as of now, it is unclear if Mike D’Antoni will take the job in Indiana. 

Indiana Pacers and Nate McMillan: A brief history

Nate McMillan has been a loyal servant to the Pacers franchise for several years. He was initially appointed as the assistant coach under the Frank Vogel, who’s now with the Lakers. After three years, McMillan took over from Vogel in 2016.

When he was sacked, McMillan had spent four years as the head coach of the Pacers. The 56-year-old took Indiana to the postseason in every year of his head coaching stint. However, he wasn’t too successful as the Pacers are 3-16 from 2016-2020 in the NBA Playoffs. 

“On behalf of the Simon family and the Pacers organization, I’d like to thank Nate for his years with the team. 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,” the Pacers’ official statement read. 

McMillan has registered 183 victories as the Pacers’ head coach, which is the third-most in franchise history.