Another coaching search and draft loom: Pacers must hit on both.
By TYLER SMITH (@TylerSmith_ISL)
ISL Editor
INDIANAPOLIS — The Pacers have now fired two Nate’s in a span of 9 1/2 months. With the dismissal of Nate Bjorkgren, the Pacers will once again embark on a coaching searching. They’ve botched coaching decisions and draft picks in the past: This time around, they have to hit on both.
I personally loved the hire of Nate Bjorkgren (though he wasn’t in my top 4 choices overall.) I’m still a fan of finding the “next” Nick Nurse. My optimism mainly stemmed from how extensive the search was from Kevin Pritchard and his team. They interviewed 20 candidates, took lots of time, and all felt like they landed a homerun hire. Then we heard from guys like Malcolm Brogdon, who said: “I’m going to repeat this all year until people realize just how well-coached we are.” Or Domantas Sabonis saying: “Coach is a genius.” But in the end, it just didn’t work out. Bjorkgren was dealt a very difficult hand- a weird Covid year, 250 games missed due to injury, and a shorter off-season. But in this business: Even one bad year is often enough.
According to Woj, the Pacers will be looking for an experienced coach this time around- also suggesting Bjorkgren may have stayed if a rebuild was in order. All signs point to the Pacers keeping the core (or most of it) intact for the upcoming season. That would also lead you to believe guys like Terry Stotts, Mike D’Antoni, Ken Atkinson, or Steve Clifford types would be the ones considered. But as we’ve seen, these things aren’t always easy to predict.
The Pacers also need to “hit” in this draft. Kevin Pritchard has a bad reputation in the draft, and rightfully so. But the Pacers will probably end up with the 13th pick this year, which can be pretty significant compared to the 18th or later range that they’re used to. If they stay at 13, or decide to trade up: It absolutely has to be the right decision.
This team still has a lot of talent. Bringing TJ Warren back, hitting on their draft decision, and possibly making one trade to fill another need? That could quickly make the Pacers interesting again in the Eastern Conference. But if these decisions are botched once again, it won’t be pretty, and this team will have to start completely over in the near future.
Here are some of the notable quotes from Kevin Pritchard’s end of season presser:
