The Blazers are very happy with the performance of coach Nate McMillan.

Portland president Larry Miller discussed McMillan in an interview with the Columbian on Friday.

"Great relationship with Nate. He's a great guy. Not just a great coach but a great human being. He's, I think, one of the best young coaches in the league, and I think is going to evolve to be one of the best coaches in the league," Miller said.

"The (2008 Summer) Olympics experience I think was great for him. I don't think he was really that excited about going back, but he's excited about it now. It's a lot of work. It takes away what would typically be ? I don't want to say downtime because there's never downtime ? but takes away some of the time that's maybe not as busy. But I think it's a great experience for him. I think Nate thinks it's a great experience for him. And I just think he's going to continue to get better and better as a coach and I think we're fortunate to have him."

The Blazers were 54-28 last season, and the team has a 148-180 record overall under McMillan.