Nate McMillan took over the role of Hawks' head coach on March 1 after the team decided to part ways with Lloyd Pierce after a 14-20 start.
On Monday afternoon, while giving a season-ending press conference, Hawks GM Travis Schlenk announced that the Hawks would be moving forward with Nate McMillan at the helm.
It's very clearly a deserved title as McMillan went 27-11 with the Hawks in the regular season and helped the team reach the Eastern Conference Finals for just the second time since 1970.
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The Hawks had previously noted they would not have the discussion with Nate McMillan about removing the interim tag during the season to avoid distraction. But it certainly was a priority based on how quickly they had an announcement.
Atlanta Hawks GM Travis Schlenk joined John and Hugh on Tuesday morning and spoke about the decision to make McMillan the full-time head coach.
"Before the playoffs started we were playing well. I approached him at some point toward the end of the season and said it would be pretty foolish to have a coaching search and if you'd like to be the head coach the job is yours," says Schlenk explaining the initial conversation.
"He wanted the position but we both agreed at that time that we'd talk about it once the season was over. It was the right thing to do, not take away from what we were trying to accomplish, but I thought it was important he knew that the organization felt strongly about what he was able to accomplish," says Schlenk. "Pretty painless coaching search to say the least."
While the conversation around McMillan was a big one heading into the offseason, with that one settled the focus shifts to another key piece of the Hawks 2021 run, John Collins and his impending free agency.
To hear all of Travis Schlenk's comments, click here.
