Pacers team president Larry Bird announced Thursday he won’t be renewing coach Frank Vogel’s contract.
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At the top of everyone’s mind is whether Vogel will return as head coach. When referring to what would attract a coach to the Pacers, talked about how Hoosiers, other than today, treat people well.
The Boston Celtics, for instance, are paying Brad Stevens $3.67 million; the Oklahoma City Thunder are paying Billy Donavon $6 million annually; and, on the high end, the San Antonio Spurs are paying Gregg Popovich $11 million per year. So my voice is new to virtually everybody in this locker room.
Lowry, whose halfcourt shot sent Game 1 to overtime, got the last attempt for the Raptors but couldn’t hit the rim with a long 3-point attempt. “You know some time my job really sucks and this is one of the toughest things I’ve done because of the respect that I have for Frank. I just came to the conclusion that I felt it was necessary for these guys to hear a new voice, but it’s tough”. He took the Pacers to the Eastern Conference finals in back-to-back seasons in 2012-13 and 2013-14.
IN coach Frank Vogel’s future with the team is uncertain after the Pacers’ playoff exit Sunday. “It’s all about scoring some points”.
As it stands, the only other coaches with at least four years’ tenure aside from Spoelstra and Casey are San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich (20 seasons), Dallas’ Rick Carlisle (eight seasons) and Portland’s Terry Stotts (four seasons).
I mean, maybe Bird just isn’t a fan of Frank Vogel.
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra reacted to the surprising news during shoot-around in preparation for Game 2 of Miami’s second round matchup vs. the Toronto Raptors. After the news of Vogel’s release broke out, the New York Media urged Knicks president Phil Jackson to immediately sign him before another team swoops in. Bird clearly believes he can assemble a roster, and he has own ideas about how he wants it coached (small, up-tempo, dynamic). “He’s the real deal”.
“That’s why it’s fairly easy for me to feel grateful being part of this organization for 21 years, the same group”, said Spoelstra, who rose through the organization in previous roles as video coordinator and assistant coach.
Bird said he has begun to compile a list of candidates to fill the head coaching vacancy and would begin the process shortly.
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Bird was asked if he would hire Kevin McHale the former coach of the Rockets, and Bird said no. He said he respected Kevin too much to hire him to work for him.
