And Here We Go (Coach McMillan)

[Spud2nique]

8 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

However, the cracks began to show in July when sources say Hawks governor Tony Ressler pushed the front office to go on a cost-cutting spree, which resulted in a top-heavy and structurally deficient roster. The moves came months after Ressler told the media he wasn't scared of the luxury tax and made private assurances to players that he planned to spend what was necessary to build a contending team.

The short-sighted plan chased off the architect of the team's rebuild, gutted the roster, and left gaping holes in the front office. As a result, 2023 presents the most perilous era in Atlanta in many years.

[JayBirdHawk]

This thread is from Nate's first year as the full time head coach. TTe same issues then as they are now. Smh.

 

 

 

[kg01]

58 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

And all these clown-a**es out here blaming Trae still.  Smh. 

[JeffS17]

I've always defended Schlenk because I like what I hear when he talks about basketball, our roster, draft prospects, etc.  He has a good reputation, and drafting 19 year olds is a bit of a crap shoot so I tend to give a lot of leeway there.  And I try not to use hindsight to fault decisions.  The recent drama within our org is indicating to me that Schlenk is likely not the root issue, and it starts with Tony Ressler.  

This is basically the scenario I've feared for 2+ years now.  Ressler talking big about going into the tax with no real intention of doing that (unless we are already winning championships, which is extremely unlikely without going into the tax in the first place)... now he has completely run off one of the more competent GMs in the league because he's micromanaging his moves, going behind his back to orchestrate deals through his son and Landry fields, and forcing him to make losing trades to save money.

So as many here have suspected and stated since the news on Schlenk came out, he's gone because he has a fundamentally different vision for the team than Ressler.  Schlenk was trying to build a championship roster from the ground up and make good long term moves that over time will culminate in a winning team that has assets to go all-in during Trae's prime.  Ressler's intention for this team is clear: stay under the luxury threshold and feature Trae to sell tickets.  Keep Trae happy because he's the engine for the box office.  And keeping Trae happy has turned into Trae being an unqualified mini-GM.  Now we have nepotism, yes-men, and businessmen running the organization... I don't see any substantial basketball, team building, experience to be excited about.  We're going to quickly turn into the Minnesota Timberwolves East.  I've had season tickets for the past couple years and this is the first time I've really questioned if I wanted to renew.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

#HawksDejavu

 

He can only coach one way.

[AtLaS]

13 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

#HawksDejavu

 

He can only coach one way.

 

He lost 9 of 10 playoff series in the first round, and the 10th he was eliminated in the 2nd round before coming to Atlanta.  That is a LONG track record of failure in the playoffs.  

The league had spoken, he was no longer coveted as a HC.  He was now seen as an assistant, and was never supposed to be our HC.  But when Pierce was fired, Nate really didn't change anything, was very humble and he was more of a players coach and we went on the big playoff run, almost forcing ownership to offer him a new contract.  Then, with a new contract and security he reverted back to classic McMillan and implemented his 20 year failure of a system, and here we are.  He is a first round exit coach and doesn't make any adjustments at all.  

It fails in the playoffs b/c the opposing team knows exactly what we are going to and he doesn't change or adjust.  

Edited January 3, 2023 by AtLaS

[Wurider05]

Go back to the stacks. I was trying to tell you all that he wasn't the guy for the Hawks but you all were drunk off of that magical run we made. Dude runs into the same issues he had in Portland and Indiana. 

[Watchman]

And as long as he continued using Lloyd Pierce's offense we went to the ECF.  With Nate's offense, we've continued to decline.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

They're late but whatever.

 

Nate McMillan on the hot seat

In talking with several NBA executives about the Atlanta Hawks, there’s a prevailing prediction from outside the organization – coach Nate McMillan won’t be with the team beyond this season. Despite a three-game winning streak heading into Wednesday’s road matchup against Luka Doncic and the Mavericks, the Hawks are not meeting expectations at 22-22 following the blockbuster acquisition of All-Star Dejounte Murray. – via Michael Scotto @ HoopsHype

 

[sturt]

Kind-of a post that suggests its Hoops Hype author is working on a quota.

 

Few coaches whose teams are "not meeting expectations" would avoid the same "prevailing prediction outside the organization."

 

 

[shakes]

Tell me if I'm wrong, but the reason management does not want Nate to leave during the season is because management is afraid they will put an interim coach in place and that coach will do very well and then management might be in a situation where they have to give the guy the job full time ala what happened with Nate 2 years ago.

 

if that's true, you really can't get more chicken shite than that.  Imagine not firing a coach because you are scared the team will respond and  win games?  If that's the case might as well sit everyone and fully embrace a tank.

[AHF]

2 minutes ago, shakes said:

Tell me if I'm wrong, but the reason management does not want Nate to leave during the season is because management is afraid they will put an interim coach in place and that coach will do very well and then management might be in a situation where they have to give the guy the job full time ala what happened with Nate 2 years ago.

 

if that's true, you really can't get more chicken shite than that.  Imagine not firing a coach because you are scared the team will respond and  win games?  If that's the case might as well sit everyone and fully embrace a tank.

I thought the idea was more that Nate ****ed us with his staff so there is no one currently in the organization that is a legit candidate to take over and they don't want to tank the season.  They think Nate is the better alternative and don't think the good long-term candidates will be available until the offseason so better to make the break at the end of the year.

[swanlee]

As much as it may suck I'd say let Nate coach out the season and see what happens. I do not want to get locked into an interim coach if they get hot at the end of the year and make a playoff run.

I'd like us to take our time and find a coach that fits in the off season.