While the timing of the hire is amusing, Bird is far from a stranger to Indiana’s operations. He’s served a vital role for the Pacers in various coaching and exec positions from 1997 to July 2022. His stretch as a Pacers head coach was a decorated one, leading Indiana to playoff appearances in all three seasons as a coach and accumulating a 147-67 overall record.
And now, after briefly stepping away from his post as an advisor, Bird rejoined the franchise in a consulting capacity. Last year, when Bird opted to leave the Pacers, team president Kevin Pritchard made it clear the door would be open for a reunion.
“Yeah, he’s not active. But look, Larry is a good friend of mine and he’s a good friend of Rick’s (Carlisle),” Pritchard told Fieldhouse Files.
While the timing of the hire is amusing, Bird is far from a stranger to Indiana’s operations. He’s served a vital role for the Pacers in various coaching and exec positions from 1997 to July 2022. His stretch as a Pacers head coach was a decorated one, leading Indiana to playoff appearances in all three seasons as a coach and accumulating a 147-67 overall record.
And now, after briefly stepping away from his post as an advisor, Bird rejoined the franchise in a consulting capacity. Last year, when Bird opted to leave the Pacers, team president Kevin Pritchard made it clear the door would be open for a reunion.
“Yeah, he’s not active. But look, Larry is a good friend of mine and he’s a good friend of Rick’s (Carlisle),” Pritchard told Fieldhouse Files.
While the timing of the hire is amusing, Bird is far from a stranger to Indiana’s operations. He’s served a vital role for the Pacers in various coaching and exec positions from 1997 to July 2022. His stretch as a Pacers head coach was a decorated one, leading Indiana to playoff appearances in all three seasons as a coach and accumulating a 147-67 overall record.
And now, after briefly stepping away from his post as an advisor, Bird rejoined the franchise in a consulting capacity. Last year, when Bird opted to leave the Pacers, team president Kevin Pritchard made it clear the door would be open for a reunion.
“Yeah, he’s not active. But look, Larry is a good friend of mine and he’s a good friend of Rick’s (Carlisle),” Pritchard told Fieldhouse Files.