The Indiana Pacers have found their new head coach.
The man for the job is none other than Rick Carlisle.
Pacers are hiring Rick Carlisle as their new head coach, per @espn_macmahon
He was their coach from '03-'07 pic.twitter.com/5VRor7WikW
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 24, 2021
Carlisle was recently the Dallas Mavericks head coach for the last 13 seasons.
He decided it was time for a fresh start.
That fresh start is going to be with the Pacers.
Carlisle was the head coach of the Pacers for four seasons.
Those seasons were met with some success, including a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The “Malice in the Palace” derailed the future outlook of those Pacers teams, which led to his firing 2007.
He was a great coach for them, but they simply needed a fresh start.
Now he is back after all these years and ready to help bring them back to contention.
Carlisle was a great hire for the Pacers and this is why.
He Is A Championship Winning Coach
In 2011, the Mavericks had a historic run to the NBA championship.
Carlisle was able to lead that team past the defending back-to-back champion Los Angeles Lakers.
They took down the young up-and-coming Oklahoma City Thunder.
Then in the Finals, they were able to upset the Miami Heat with the big three.
Carlisle did such a phenomenal job with that team.
Now he is bringing that championship DNA to the Pacers.
The Pacers have never won an NBA title and have only made the Finals once.
They are a small market team, which is hard for them to attract free agents.
In today’s NBA, you need to garner superstar talent.
The draft is the only way for them to do that.
However, they are usually good enough to make the playoffs and avoid the lottery.
This season was a struggle, but they still were not bad enough to gain a top pick.
Carlisle is great at helping teams with little expectations achieve great things.
The Mavericks of the last two years pushed the Los Angeles Clippers in the playoffs without a lot of talent outside of Luka Doncic.
He can get the best out of a team when you least expect it.
Veteran Presence
The last Pacers coach was a new face on the head coaching scene.
That was Nate Bjorkgren.
Bjorkgren was not the worst hire in the world, but he did not mesh well with a veteran locker room.
Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner, and Malcolm Brogdon are not 30 years old.
However, they are veterans in the league and carry themselves as such.
This locker room is very professional and demands respect.
Nate McMillan was a great coach for them.
The Pacers front office believed it was time to get younger and wanted to rely on analytics.
That did not work out and they had to go back to the drawing board.
Pacers worked quietly and quickly to get a deal done with Rick Carlisle. Team had planned to start interviews with several candidates in Chicago this week. Carlisle was a top assistant to Larry Bird early in his coaching career with Pacers. https://t.co/Hf1POaqEFp
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 24, 2021
Carlisle is the perfect fit for a team that wants a respected head coach.
He is beyond respected in the NBA.
Players love him for what he has done and how he can connect with a locker room.
This hire by the Pacers was the best possible choice.
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