Portland Trail Blazers extend coach Nate McMillan's contract for two more years
The experienced, phenomenal and spirited Nate McMillan has been serving the Portland Trail Blazers as head coach for the past five years in a fantastic manner. Blazers fans got some very good news on Tuesday night when the Portland General Manager Rich Cho
announced that the contract with McMillan has been extended for two more years. This extension will keep him under contract through the 2012-13 season, which means the team will probably rock basketball courts in pretty much the same manner as they have under
the leadership of McMillan so far.
Rich Cho said the contact was extended keeping in view the McMillan’s great contributions towards the National Basketball Association (NBA). “With his NBA and USA Basketball track record, Nate has established himself as one of the premier minds in the game
of basketball. What Nate has accomplished in the last few years is truly remarkable and getting his contract extended was a top priority for the franchise and me,” said Cho.
So far, McMillan has a 234-239 record with the Blazers. The most interesting aspect of his basketball career is that he is the second longest tenured head coach for Portland after Jack ‘Dr. Jack’ Ramsay, who is best known for coaching the Blazers to the
1976-77 NBA Championship.
McMillan took charge of the Trail Blazers when they were struggling on and off the court and started from scratch. His first year in charge was not about winning; rather he emphasised on rebuilding and restructuring. That season the Trail Blazers only managed
21 wins.
McMillan then worked hard to identify the strengths and weaknesses of his team to transform the young talent in his roster. His efforts were fruitful by the end as his team improved to 32 wins in the 2005-06 season, followed by a jump to 41 wins in the next
season.
After six years and six months, McMillan has a 234-239 record with the Blazers, including consecutive seasons of at least 50 wins.
This season, despite some major injuries, the Blazers are 37-27 and in sixth place in the Western Conference. In the last match, Portland defeated the mighty Miami Heat 105-96 on Tuesday night at American Airlines Arena, extending their winning streak to
four games.
‘Mr. Sonic’ McMillan seems to be quiet happy with the broadening of the deal as he himself asked for an extension in the summer, but was kept at bay. However, he is provided with an excellent opportunity this time to serve the Blazers for 24 more months.
MacMillan said that although they are in a tie with Denver Nuggets for fifth position in the West, there is still a long way to go.
“This is where I want to be, it really is,” McMillan said. “ There is a lot that still needs to be done here for me. But when I came here this is what I wanted – to be here for a long time, build something and have an opportunity to win.”
The re-appointment of Macmillan comes at a time when the Trail Blazers are passing through one of the best stretches in the recent past. McMillan has been the brains behind Portland’s resurgence from an average into a play-off contending franchise. In the
next two years, we might see them even toppling the likes of Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, and Orlando Magic for an Eastern Conference title.
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