Eastern Notes: McMillan, Washington, Giannis, Marks

Jamelle McMillan, the son of longtime NBA coach Nate McMillan, has been named the head coach of the Pistons’ G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com reports.

McMillan has a connection to new Pistons head coach Monty Williams. He was on Williams’ staff in New Orleans and most recently was part of his father’s staff in Atlanta.

“The number one thing for me is not trying to be either one of those guys because that’s a really, really tall task for any coach,” McMillan said of his coaching mentors. He replaces DJ Bakker, who has left the Pistons organization and joined the Bucks’ coaching staff.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

• Hornets restricted free agent P.J. Washington was in limbo most of the summer until agreeing to a three-year, $48MM contract over the weekend. Talks were stagnant for more than a month, according to Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer, until heating up over the past week after the 2023/24 schedule was released. Washington could have signed a qualifying offer and headed to unrestricted free agency next summer but instead decided to play it safe and get the security of a three-year deal.
• Giannis Antetokounmpo said he won’t sign an extension this offseason and might consider joining another organization if he feels like the Bucks aren’t perennial title contenders. Could that factor into the Heat’s thinking regarding a trade for Damian Lillard? Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel doubts it, noting they can’t put Jimmy Butler (player option in the summer of ’25) on hold for a season or two to see if the Bucks’ superstar asks for a trade and eventually becomes a free agent. However, Winderman also notes that if the Heat don’t trade for Lillard, they could retain the assets they’d have to give up in a trade with the Blazers and use them for another blockbuster move.
• The Nets no longer have the superstar power but they’ve got a lot of interesting young pieces and GM Sean Marks is excited to see how they’ll fit together, Anthony Puccio of Nets Daily relays. “We have all put ourselves in a position to have an exciting few years here where we’ve got a much younger roster than we’ve had in the past and a lot of guys have chips on their shoulders which I think is pretty important,” Marks told Jason Prime of New Zealand’s Weekend Sport on OMNY FM. “They’re pretty self-motivated. They don’t need to listen to me or anyone else for that matter for motivation. They’ve got something to prove.”