INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Larry Bird made the decision last year.
After nearly 40 years in the NBA, he had started plotting an exit strategy.
The 60-year-old Hall-of-Famer finally told the rest of the world Monday: He was
stepping down as Indiana’s president of basketball operations, turning the reins
over to Kevin Pritchard and staying in the Pacers organization as a scout and
consultant.
“Maybe when I turn 70, I’ll come back,” Bird joked. “But right now, my wife is
happy. She’s been on this run since I was a sophomore in college.”
It has been a run of legend. Bird’s story is well known to millions – the
small-town prep star who led Indiana State to the 1979 NCAA championship game
against Magic Johnson, won three MVP Awards and three NBA titles in Boston, and
then helped the Dream Team capture Olympic gold in 1992. In August 1992, the man
nicknamed “Larry Legend” and “The Hick from French Lick” retired as a player but
remained with the Celtics as a special assistant until the Pacers offered him
their head coaching post in 1997-98.
Bird took the Pacers to the Eastern Conference finals three straight times and
was named the league’s coach of the year in his debut season. A heart ailment
prompted Bird to follow through on another promise – that he would only coach
three seasons. He walked away weeks after Indiana lost to the Lakers in the 2000
Finals.
Three years later, a rejuvenated and healthier Bird returned to the team as
president.
This time, Bird put together teams that went to three more conference finals and
earned him the NBA’s executive of the year award in 2011-12. Bird is the only
person in league history to earn an MVP Award and be named the coach and
executive of the year.
His one failing: He couldn’t bring an NBA title to Indiana. He will need to
leave that one where it is.
Bird explained how he informed team owner Herb Simon last summer that he had
signed his final contract to run the team. Then Bird called two confidantes into
his office – Pritchard and Peter Dinwiddie, the Pacers’ vice president of
basketball operations – and repeated the message.
Bird said almost nobody else knew until word first leaked of his impending
departure Friday.
“This is not a shock to me as Larry has always been up front about someday
stepping down,” Simon said. “I thank him for all that he has done and am very
pleased he is remaining with the Pacers in a different capacity.”
It’s the second time in five years Bird has given up Indiana’s top front-office
job, and it won’t be easy for Pritchard to replace a basketball icon like Bird
in a state like Indiana. Pritchard has at least worked side-by-side with Bird
and Donnie Walsh for the last five seasons.
“Good luck,” Bird joked as he walked off the dais Monday.
When Pritchard sat down, he quipped: “Wow, this seat already feels a little
hot.”
“What do you say to someone who absolutely gave you the opportunity of a
lifetime?” Pritchard said. “I’ve learned so much from him. He has a foundation
at which you have to play and you have to play tough and you have to play
selfless.”
Pritchard acknowledged he will look for those traits in new players, too.
First, though, he must sort through the uncertainties of what will be a crucial
offseason for the Pacers.
Point guard Jeff Teague can become a free agent and Indiana still doesn’t know
if four-time All-Star Paul George intends to stick around when his contract
expires at the end of next season.
Two years ago, Bird decided to switch from a traditional power team to one that
favored “small ball,” which George publicly disagreed with. Bird finally told
reporters that George would do whatever was asked.
The experiment didn’t last long as coach Frank Vogel moved George back to small
forward early the next season. After the season, Bird let Vogel walk away, a
move many fans criticized.
Bird came under even more scrutiny last season when a series of bold offseason
moves didn’t pan out as expected. Indiana had to win its final five
regular-season games just to make the playoffs, then wound up enduring the
franchise’s first four-game sweep against defending champion Cleveland.
Now Bird is gone, the Pacers are in flux and Pritchard will have to fix it.
“The one thing I don’t want to do is get in Kevin’s way. I know, at times, how
difficult this job can be,” Bird said. “If I can do this (as a consultant), it
would be great. If not, I’ll move on.”
