INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — When Kevin Pritchard hired a new coach in
October, he took a calculated risk. This time, the Indiana Pacers
president of basketball operations went for the known
commodity.
Pritchard hired longtime Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle on
Thursday, reuniting the 61-year-old with the team that helped
relaunch his head coaching career almost two decades ago.
“Rick is a proven winner with a championship and will be a Hall
of Fame coach,” Pritchard said in a statement. “He has demonstrated
throughout his career an ability to build something with
sustainable success. He has great respect for our franchise and our
fans from his previous times here. We are very happy to welcome him
back to Indiana.”
Clearly, the Pacers believe Carlisle can bring stability to a
veteran team that battled a severe rash of injuries last season.
The result was a losing record and their first playoff absence in
six years.
Carlisle will get a chance to make a quick fix with the same
organization he led from 2003-07 and took to the Eastern Conference
finals in his first season with the team.
This time, he becomes the third Pacers coach in less than 12
months.
Nate McMillan was fired in August following his fourth straight
first-round playoff exit, just weeks after signing a contract
extension. His replacement, Nate Bjorkgren, lasted one tumultuous
season in his first NBA head coaching gig.
“I wanted to take a risk,” Pritchard said while announcing
Bjorkgren's firing June 9. “I wanted to take a chance and have
something that had a lower floor but a higher ceiling. This year,
maybe it’s skewed down and we look at something a little bit
different."
The Pacers know exactly what they’re getting in Carlisle — a
disciplined, details-oriented, old-school coach who spent three
seasons as Larry Bird’s assistant during the most successful era in
franchise history. Those traits could help the Pacers defense,
which allowed 115.3 points per game and was ranked 25th last
season.
The bigger question might be whether Carlisle is the right
fit.
After an embarrassing season-ending loss to Washington in the
play-in round, Pritchard acknowledged Pacers players described
Bjorkgren as a micromanager in end-of-season interviews. The
problems even spilled into public view during an in-game shouting
match between backup center Goga Bitadze and assistant coach Greg
Foster amid reports of locker-room drama.
Carlisle had similar issues in his 13th and final season in
Dallas.
Two-time All-Star Luka Doncic occasionally showed his anger by
making animated gestures toward the coach during games and there
were reports of “simmering tension” between the two before Carlisle
resigned last week. Team owner Mark Cuban said Carlisle made the
decision to leave, one day after general manager Donnie Nelson also
left.
With all five starters under contract, Pritchard believes the
Pacers can contend quickly — with a healthy roster, a stronger
defense and better coaching. He also wants to see more leadership
from the players.
“We’ve got a decent team and we’re trying to go to good, and
those players will give us some feedback,” Pritchard said two weeks
ago. “You’ve got to push players. You’ve got to get them to be
their best. That’s what great coaches do. Individually, I really
like the locker room. During exit meetings, I was probably as hard
as I’ve ever been on a group that someone has to be a vocal leader.
Right now, I’m not sure who that is.”
Carlisle is 836-689 overall with the Pacers, Pistons and Mavs.
He went 555-478 and led Dallas to its only NBA championship in
2010-11 with superstar Dirk Nowitzki, becoming the winningest coach
in franchise history. But after making the title run, Carlisle
didn’t win another playoff series.
The Mavericks lost in the first round six times, including this
year and last year to the Los Angeles Clippers in the first two
postseason appearances for Doncic.
Cuban had said he expected Carlisle to return next season. But
after the departure of Nelson, who once called Carlisle “our Jerry
Sloan,” Carlisle opted for a fresh start and landed in a familiar
place.
“My sincere thanks to (Pacers owner) Herb Simon, Kevin Pritchard
and the entire Pacers organization for the opportunity to come back
to basketball’s heartland,” Carlisle said. “My wife, Donna,
daughter, Abby, and I are truly grateful.”
Carlisle spent three seasons as Bird’s assistant before taking
the Detroit Pistons job in 2001. He was the 2001-02 NBA coach of
the year. Two years later, Indiana hired Carlisle, who went 181-147
in four seasons.
He also played five seasons in the NBA, winning a championship
in 1985-86 as Bird's teammate with the Boston Celtics. Following
the end of his career in 1989, Carlisle spent the next decade
bouncing around as an assistant before getting his big break in
Detroit.