Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird announced Thursday that head coach Frank Vogel will not return to the team next season.
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FILE – In this January 28, 2016 file photo, Indiana Pacers head coach Frank Vogel gestures during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Atlanta Hawks, in Indianapolis.
Expect to see the Knicks and Vogel discuss a contract and don’t be surprised if he ends up agreeing to one and helping turn New York’s franchise around.
In six seasons as Pacers coach, Vogel had a 250-181 regular-season record and a 31-30 playoff record, losing in Game 7 of the first round to Toronto this season.
Vogel is known for coaching the heck out of the Pacers over the last several seasons, and pulling talent out of players where it was seemingly nowhere to be found. The Pacers set a back-to-back conference finals showdown against the Miami Heat in 2013 and 2014.
“He kept saying, ‘Can we sit down and delay the news conference and start all over again?’ He’s going to be missed”.
Anybody familiar with the situation will not be surprised by the announcement as Bird stated earlier this week that they were undecided on what the future was for Vogel in Indiana.
There’s no debating that Vogel is a good coach, but would you be okay with the Sixers parting with Brown on the basis of hiring Vogel?
“We know through the grapevine some players who would like to come here and play”, Bird said.
You can cross Kevin McHale off the list, as Bird said he won’t be hiring his former teammate as head coach.
However, Bird said at the time of this season’s All-Star break that he was starting to think it was time to make a change and have a new coach breathe new life into an offense that at times became stagnant. He is expected to be a leading candidate for the Houston Rockets’ job.
When teams fire coaches, they sometimes go from one extreme to the other.
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“He did fine, but it’s all about motivating players and getting them to play at a higher level”, Bird said. I respect him too much.
