McMillan coming back; Sonics seek to make ‘big, bold’ move

  • Rich Myhre / Herald Writer
  • Friday, April 16, 2004 9:00pm
  • Sports

SEATTLE – Faced with a summer of expected change, the Seattle SuperSonics have learned they will have at least one constant to carry over to the 2004-05 NBA season.

Nate McMillan, who in recent months has sometimes hedged when asked about his desire to coach the team next season, on Friday confirmed that he will return. Despite a disappointing and often frustrating 2003-04 season, McMillan said he plans to honor the last season of his four-year coaching contract, which he signed on March 27, 2001.

“I’ve got a year left and my plans right now are to come back,” he said. Over the summer, he went on, “I still will think about everything and see what happens this offseason.”

Is there any realistic thing that could change his mind?

“Not really,” McMillan replied. “Right now my plans are to come back. … It’s a challenge. It’s a difficult job, but that’s part of it. You are amongst the best and considered one of the best, so of course it’s a huge challenge. But I enjoy what I’m doing.”

Still, the recently finished season was difficult for McMillan, who has brought to coaching the same passion for winning that he displayed as a player. The Sonics started well, winning six of their first eight games despite missing All-Star guard Ray Allen, who sat out the first 25 games after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to remove bone fragments from his right ankle.

Seattle was still four games over .500 in early January (19-15), but then went through a prolonged skid, losing 23 of the next 31 games to fall out of playoff contention. The final 37-45 record was the team’s worst since 1985-86, when the Sonics were 31-51.

McMillan was openly grieved at times, particularly by his inability to exact more from his young and frequently erratic squad. Asked at midseason whether he had the stamina to stay through a rebuilding process that could take several years, he said only, “We’ll see.” Likewise, others in the organization quietly wondered if McMillan would last the season, let alone the length of his contract.

Questioned Friday if the offseason of 2005 will be more of a crossroads, given the expiration of his contract, McMillan said: “All coaches (make that determination), whenever it’s at the end. You have to make a decision based on where you are and if there’s a future with the team you have, or do you consider going somewhere else. But that’s way off right now.”

Sonics president Wally Walker was traveling on Friday and was unavailable for comment. In the past Walker, general manager Rick Sund and owner Howard Schultz have all expressed their support for McMillan.

Also Friday, McMillan and Sund met with the media to discuss the recent season and the team’s plans for the future. In particular, Sund said the Sonics will aggressively pursue trades in an effort to upgrade.

Rather than one or two minor deals, Sund said, “we’d like to see if we can maybe make a big, bold move. … If we do something, I’d like to do something big. If we can get a star, we’d like to do that. And if not a star, then maybe a player where Nate can say, ‘This’ll speed up our process to get into the playoffs.’”

Seattle is expected to dangle perhaps its two most attractive assets – young forwards Rashard Lewis and Vlade Radmanovic – in an effort to acquire a premier inside player, though the Sonics would probably also have to toss in some other combination of players and/or draft picks.

“We’ve got some good, young pieces here,” Sund said, adding, “I think we have more flexibility now than we’ve had in the past – say three years ago, when Nate and I started here – to maybe make some trades.”

Though the Sonics have been hesitant to talk about rebuilding in recent years – in professional sports, marketing staffs loathe that word – Sund said that is clearly what the team is doing.

Seattle, in fact, is “rebuilding, one goal at a time,” he said. “Nate wants to be 82-0, but it’s going to come in stages. Next year, if we do it correctly, I think we’re in a position where we should make the playoffs. And then down the road you can shoot for being an elite team … which gives you a legitimate shot for a championship.”

The Sonics, Sund said, are “a work in progress. … Our first goal is to try to make the playoffs on a consistent basis and then our next goal is to try to move up in the playoffs. That’s what rebuilding is and those are the basketball goals that we have.”

Agree to disagree: There were some amusing moments during Friday’s media get-together. At one point, Sund was discussing the possibility of choosing a high school player in the June 24 draft – the Sonics have the No. 12 pick, assuming they do not move up in the May 26 league lottery.

While Sund, who weighs both immediate and long-term priorities as the team’s GM, was citing the pros and cons of drafting a teen-ager, his head coach, who wants to win now, was subtly shaking his head.

Traveling man: Sund was scheduled to fly out of Seattle late Friday night, bound for a European scouting trip that culminates with the European Championships on April 29-May 1 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Still talking: Seattle has three free agents and one, guard Brent Barry, will be a big part of the team’s offseason agenda.

The 32-year-old Barry is seeking a four-year contract, the Sonics favor a three-year deal, and for now the two parties are in a wait-and-see mode. Even if a deal is reached, it would not be signed until after the June 22 expansion draft, which means Seattle would not have to add Barry to its eight-player protected list.

“We don’t know if we’re going to sign Brent or not,” Sund said, “but we’re in dialogue.”

Summer plans: The Sonics expect to enter a team in the Utah summer league in mid-July. By then, Sund said, there is a good chance forward Nick Collison, who missed the 2003-04 season after having surgeries on both shoulders, will be able to participate.

Collison’s rehabilitation is progressing, Sund said, and “everything looks optimistic right now. He’s going along pretty good.”

Plenty of potential: Though Radmanovic lost his starting forward spot at midseason, Sund and McMillan have not given up on the 23-year-old native of Serbia-Montenegro.

“Vlade was a better player this year than he was last year and he was a better player last year than he was the year before,” Sund said. “He has a huge upside if he can continue (to improve). … If he wants to be one of the premier players in the league, he has to rebound better when he plays (power forward) and he has to (defend) better when he plays (small forward). But right now he’s a lot like Detlef Schrempf was in his first five or six years in the league.”

“I thought offensively he improved,” McMillan added. “His turnovers were a little better from his last two years when he gave up the ball more. But defensively I think he can be better. I didn’t see the improvement that I felt he could give on the defensive end of the floor (because) I think he is big enough, strong enough and quick enough to guard two positions.”

Sund was less flattering in his critique of center Jerome James, who also lost his starting job at midseason.

James “had a disappointing year,” Sund said, and he has to “accept his role (as a rebounder and defender), and he has to improve in those areas that are going to help the club.” In terms of upside, Sund added, James “is who he is, in my mind.”

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