The Indiana Pacers are considering Nick Van Exel to fill a seat next to Nate McMillan on the bench.
Nate McMillan does not yet have a full staff of assistant coaches, and the Indiana Pacers are reportedly looking to hire Nick Van Exel for the role, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.
Van Exel just completed his first season as head coach for the Texas Legends in the NBA D-League after one year as an assistant with the minor league team.
Interesting twist in the coaching game: Sources say Indiana has expressed interest in hiring Nick Van Exel to join Nate McMillan's staff.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 24, 2016
Before moving to the D-League, he cut his teeth as an assistant NBA coach in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2012-13 season. Before that, he worked in a player development role with the Atlanta Hawks.
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During his playing career, Van Exel was fortunate enough to play for several legends.
He played his final year on the San Antonio Spurs under Gregg Popovich and was on a Golden State Warriors team overseen by Don Nelson. Before that, he played for a not-yet-revered Mike D’Antoni in Denver and has the distinction of being one of the few NBA players to ever be on a team coached by Magic Johnson, who was Nick’s boss for 16 games to start the 1993-94 season.
Last season, Frank Vogel’s assistants included Popeye Jones and Dan Burke in addition to Nate McMillan. While Burke is expected back, and Jones may stay as well, no official announcements have been made regarding McMillan’s new staff.
In addition to all the general stuff he could add as a knowledgable coach and former player who has been around the NBA for nearly a quarter century, Van Exel seems like someone who could definitely help Joe Young develop.
Van Exel was an undersized, stone-cold scoring point guard in his playing days.
He could crack anyone with a cross over and had real range with a pretty lefty jumper. He got buckets on buckets on buckets, and has seen how young legends like Kobe Bryant developed first hand.