Kevin Pritchard, president of Indiana Pacers basketball operations, has a lot of work to do.
After suffering a fifth straight playoff outing in the first round when they were swept away by the Miami Heat and then fired coach Nate McMillan, the Pacers are gearing up to head in a different direction, starting with a careful search for coaching. .
“We want to be better than being overwhelmed in the playoffs, and when you watch the playoffs, I wanted to have a little hope that we could win a game. And if you really look at those games, and we have studied those games again, I once again take this on. responsibility, ”Pritchard said during a phone call from Zoom with reporters Monday. “It will be easy to point fingers, and I’m not. I take full responsibility.”
Pritchard said he could feel “relief” in McMillan after relieving him of his duties as a manager after four seasons. McMilllan has the third most wins (183) as a manager in franchise history, but the Pacers have been wiped out in the first round in each of the last two seasons.
“The manager’s ranks in the NBA are constantly changing, and I give Nate a lot of credit for instilling a tough, tough culture here. And again, I really believe he’ll find another job and another job quickly if he wants to. “Pritchard said. “And boy, would we do whatever we can to help him do that.”
The Pacers will consider a college coach or an established veteran, but the goal is to find someone with the ability to connect with younger players. The team leaned on former Pacers player David West, who is also a mentor to TJ Warren, for advice, in addition to Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard.
Houston Rockets manager Mike D’Antoni, who is in the final year of his contract, will be a Pacers target should he be available, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
“We’ve seen some of the hires in the last few years, and they come from all over the board,” Pritchard said. “The way I set up this process is, we want to start with a big pool, then go down smaller and smaller. I don’t want to rule that out. If there is an existing coach who has experience, who knows how to build a program, but maybe he has a small mark or has something to improve on.
“… I think this, that the coach is of paramount importance, but nowadays, that second, third and fourth coach are almost more important. So how they build their structure and their coaching staff. is critical”.
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