Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard accepts responsibility for Nate Bjorkgren’s unsuccessful stint as head coach, writes Bob Kravitz of The Athletic.
The team fired Bjorkgren on Wednesday after one season on the job, but the decision has seemed inevitable for weeks. Reports began circulating in early May that management was unhappy with Bjorkgren’s coaching style and his relationship with his players and staff.
With only one season remaining on his two-year contract, there was little reason not to move on.
“It’s my fault,” Pritchard said after the decision was made. “It’s our organization’s fault. We’ve got to do better.” He later added, “When we hired Nate, we wanted to take a risk. We wanted to try something new … I’m thankful for Nate; he worked his tail off. There were some things he did well. And there were some things I think he wished he had done differently.”
Bjorkgren, 45, is a former G League coach who spent two years as an assistant with the Suns and two years with the Raptors before the opportunity arose with Indiana. He led the Pacers to a 34-38 record and a spot in the play-in tournament despite significant injuries, but they were eliminated after two games.
Bjorkgren got a reputation in the locker room for not being tough enough, tweets J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star. Although there were numerous complaints about Bjorkgren, Michael adds there’s no evidence that the team’s best players, Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon, ever asked for him to be fired.
Pritchard repeatedly took matters into his own hands, Michael adds (via Twitter). A source said Pritchard went to the locker room following games at least four times this season to berate the players for what he viewed as poor effort. Pritchard had never done that before, according to Michael.
After being burned by the Bjorkgren hiring, Kravitz expects Pritchard to be far more conservative next time. Former Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts has been mentioned as a candidate, and Kravitz suggests the team might also look at Nets assistant Mike D’Antoni, Clippers assistant Kenny Atkinson and Sixers assistant Dave Joerger, who all have previous head coaching experience.
So why is he fired and not you?
Exactly. They scapegoated Nate McMillan too. Hawks love that decision.
^^^ both posters above me nailed it. He shouldn’t be allowed to choose the next head coach. Dysfunctional at its best in naptown.
Yes good posts, but McMillan got burned by the bubble more than by Pritchard.
The team fell apart (“familiarity breeds contempt”— might be kind of a white saying, but it was the Pacers).
If not that circus, who knows.
Because firing people for honest mistakes is generally very foolish, while firing people for abusive and corrosive behavior is generally very smart.
If you work at a place where admitting a mistake can get you fired, now is a great time to find a new job.
How exactly was Bjorkgren abusive or corrosive? If anything it was the opposite.
Plus, it is always a great time to find a new job. Unless you are at the absolute pinnacle of your profession, there is always room for improvement.
Media speculation has been quite rampant. He demanded too much and was too permissive. He was mean to people and also too nice. He micromanaged every detail and let too many things slide. He liked to drink Coke and Pepsi. He was everyone’s best friend and their worst enemy. Everyone wanted him gone and nobody will go on record saying they thought he was a problem. He was a walking contradiction and a running joke. He was a good communicator and an awful tactician that was good at strategy and awful at getting through to his players.
You read the media reports long enough and the only thing you will know for certain is that you know nothing.
Great comment and one hundred percent accurate analysis.
The media reports are irrelevant. When is the last time another head coach was fired for abusive behavior one year into their tenure? Do you really think the Pacers front office is trying to shield themselves by suddenly pulling the abuse card? Call me skeptical on that.
It’s not like he greatly underperformed with a strong roster. The Pacers were decimated by injuries. If he had, then maybeeeeee that conspiracy theory could carry a little weight.
Simply put, if there was no abuse he would still have a job. You only need common sense to realize that.
Multiple stories have been written about Bjorkgren’s abuse of assistant coaches and other team employees. And there are also stories about the team seeing him as duplicitous.
And then there’s Indiana’s underwhelming performance.
I was quick to praise the hire, but I was wrong. He was not head coaching material.
It’s debatable whether it’s an honest mistake. And, frankly, none of us can know the answer to that.
Pritchard makes it sound like the risk itself was the issue. Maybe, maybe not. Did they overlook concerns during his hiring? Did they fail to see signs that may have already been there? Did they make the hire without giving proper weight to certain factors? Who knows?
I’m not suggesting he should be fired for this kind of mistake fwiw. Just that blame assessment isn’t so cut and dry here.
He’s gotta ace this next hire or he’s gone, himself – possibly even during the season with Larry Bird’s ex-teammate available, especially if the new coach doesn’t turn things around almost immediately.
Pritchard’s done enough good things that he should be able to survive Bjorkgren. But he needs to get back to his job as GM, and stop trying to create a complex narrative around the situation. Bjorkgren is just another guy who should have stuck to breaking down film. Not some bold out of the box coaching hire. Just a dull, low upside, bad hire; and his decision, so who else’s fault might it be.
We will know if it is a gut and rebuild based on who they hire.
You are correct. Although I really don’t think they should. With everyone healthy, the Pacers have one of the better rosters in the East on paper. Having LeVert for the whole season should tell us what the Pacers are capable of. If it was me, I would give it a year. If no real improvement, THEN rebuild. But you gotta give the team a full year’s chance.
They have maybe 9to11 above-avg PERs, they discovered OshaeBrisset & Purdue Martin, they have ODonnell up to 1800 minutes, Lavert, Warren & Turner are off injuries, they have been mostly going with two forwards I think… Should improve.
They need to make a decision on Warren and Lamb, extend or trade this offseason in a S&T. But yes, I wouldn’t blow it up either. It’s honestly hard to get an elite player to go to Indy. None of the Top-15 guys would willingly go there even with their pieces.
Pacers aren’t the Wiz (never rebuild in any way) camp, but they’re not a franchise that would do a gut rebuild under almost any circumstances. Didn’t do it when PG13 demanded a trade. Can’t imagine them doing it here. This is a good roster and they’ll look to reconfigure/consolidate for sure, but that’s very different.
You people maybe think hes taking a public responsibility to improve Bjorkgren’s shot at getting another job? Nate did have some issues with his players from what I remember…
Of the options mentioned, I think Dave Joerger would be the best fit for what they currently have
Tipical Pacers, Play good enough not to suck, but suck enough not to win.
Tipical Pacers, Play good enough not to suck, but suck enough not to win.