Report: Former Hawks Head Coach Nate McMillan Hired As An Assistant Coach For JJ Redick's First Lakers Staff

McMillan guided the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals as the interim head coach in 2021

Feb 9, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks head coach Nate McMillan reacts to a call during the game against the Phoenix Suns during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

A former Atlanta Hawks head coach is back on the sidelines. According to a report from ESPN NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the Los Angeles Lakers are hiring former Atlanta Hawks head coach Nate McMillan to be an assistant on new head coach JJ Redick's first staff in Los Angeles.

ESPN Sources: The Los Angeles Lakers are hiring Nate McMillan and Scott Brooks as top assistant coaches on JJ Redick’s new staff. Redick gets two longtime head coaches with a combined 1,189 victories to surround him. pic.twitter.com/zRtTNlroFp

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 3, 2024

Former Oklahoma City Thunder and Washington Wizards head coach Scott Brooks is also joining Redick's staff. It appears that Redick is looking to hire experienced coaches for his first staff with the Lakers.

McMillan was originally hired as an assistant to former Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce in November 2020. The Hawks got off to a poor start that season under Pierce and he was then fired, with McMillan put in as the interim head coach. The Hawks went on a magical run with McMillan at the helm, being able to finish in 5th place in the Eastern Conference. They easily dispatched the New York Knicks in five games in the first round of the 2021 playoffs and then went on to beat the No. 1 seeded Philadelphia 76ers in seven games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. That was the high point of McMillan's time in Atlanta. He got the Hawks to their second-ever conference finals, where they lost in six games to the Milwaukee Bucks. Some would argue that if Trae Young had not injured his ankle in game three of that series, the Hawks would have made the NBA Finals.

The Hawks hired McMillan as the permanent head coach after the run to the conference finals, but it was more or less all downhill from there for McMillan. The next season, the Hawks had to win two games in the NBA's play-in tournament just to be the No. 8 seed in the playoffs, where they were destroyed in five games by the Miami Heat.

The Hawks struggled out of the gate during the 2022-2023 season, going 29-30 going into the All-Star Break and McMillan was fired. The team had just pulled a big trade for Dejounte Murray that offseason, but they were not getting the results they wanted. McMillan was quickly replaced by Quin Snyder, who remains the coach today.

McMillan has also previously been the head coach in Seattle (2000-2005), Portland (2005-2012), and the Indiana Pacers (2016-2020). He has a career 760-668 record as a head coach.