Pacers extend Vogel, sign McGuire
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers announced Monday they have signed head coach Frank Vogel to a contract extension. Per team policy, no terms were revealed.
Vogel is in his third year as Pacers coach after taking over on Jan. 30, 2011. Going into Tuesday night’s home game with Miami, Vogel has coached exactly 100 games, compiling a 62-38 record. Last season, the Pacers had a 42-24 record, fifth best in the NBA and reached the Eastern Conference Semifinals before losing to eventual NBA champion Miami.
“This is a good deal for Frank and the franchise,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh. “Frank has done a great job turning our team around since he became coach and deserves the chance to continue the work he and his staff have started.”
Said Vogel, “I’m honored that Donnie, Kevin (General Manager Pritchard) and Mr. Simon (owner Herb Simon) have such belief and faith in me to be their coach in the foreseeable future. We’ve established a great connection with our community the last two years, both on and off the court and I look forward to continuing that.”
Pacers sign McGuire
If Sam Young didn’t mash his left ankle, he’d more than likely still be on the roster. Instead, his career as a Pacer was oh-so-brief.
The team quickly moved on, announcing today that it had signed forward Dominic McGuire to a 10-day contract. On Jan. 17, the Pacers will have the option to sign McGuire to a second 10-day contract. League rules stipulate that a team cannot sign a player to more than two 10-day contracts in the same season. Indiana retains the ability to sign McGuire for the rest of the year.
McGuire, who will wear uniform No. 5, joins his third team this season and seventh in his six-year career.
Indiana president Donnie Walsh is taking a gamble.
McGuire’s as bad as it gets on offense. He was available for a reason, and that’s it. To watch McGuire in person is to wonder whether some random fan from Section 32 in the club level couldn’t be just as much of a threat. McGuire made a long jumper at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in November; it felt like a 50-point outburst. Defenses simply ignore him.
If Frank Vogel is willing to swallow the steep offensive cost, McGuire can guard on the other end. He’s three inches taller, 15 pounds heavier and even a little quicker than Young. His recent defensive metrics are not elite, though. The Pacers are already terrible on offense. Using McGuire is a hard sell.
Another wrinkle is that last year with Golden State, McGuire received the majority of his minutes at power forward. Indiana is bringing him in to play the wing, even though McGuire was more useful with the Warriors than at any of his other stops.
At 6-foot-9 and 235 pounds, McGuire is huge, so he might stand the best chance outside of Paul George against LeBron James Tuesday night.
Young had his moments on offense, scoring at least eight points on five occasions and six or more in a quarter of his games. Young didn’t help much, but McGuire is outright damaging on that end.
It’s a mighty big task to ask Indiana’s regulars to play four-on-five offensively with McGuire in the game. Even in limited minutes, it should be readily apparent why Toronto and New Orleans had no problem whatsoever letting go of him.
McGuire should be a quality defender, but the Pacers’ defense is already lights out. The short contract carries no risk. Actually putting McGuire on the court chances Indiana’s offense operating with one hand tied behind its back. McGuire needs to defend like a modern day Bruce Bowen to be worth using. If not, McGuire’s Circle City tenure could close faster than Young’s.
