2010-11 record: 37-45

Head Coach: Frank Vogel

Key Departures: Josh McRoberts, T.J. Ford, Mike Dunleavy Jr.

Key Additions: David West, George Hill

Best case scenario: The Pacers build on their spirited 1st round performance against the Bulls, seamlessly integrate David West and George Hill into their frontcourt and backcourt, they run a lot of pick-and-pop with those two and ride the momentum Indy began to accumulate at the end of last season into at least one playoff series win.

Danny Granger reminds everyone why he was once thought of as one of the NBA’s best pure scorers and most underrated players.

More likely scenario: The Pacers do their best and win more games than they lose in the regular season, but end up not quite having enough talent or enough defensive chemistry to get past teams like the Celtics, the Heat, the Bulls, or even the Knicks or Magic in the first round, and lose a heartbreaking 1st-round series in 6 or 7 games. Then Larry Bird retires.

Prediction: 35-38 wins

In another lockout-related cost-cutting move, the Indiana Pacers have let go of three veteran scouts, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Joe Ash, Leonard Perry and Brian Winters didn’t have their contracts renewed for the 2011-12 season.

The Pacers created a new position in the offseason – director of player personnel – for former Portland Trail Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard. Pacers president Larry Bird agreed to return for the season, but has expressed reluctance to work beyond 2012 in his current role. The Pacers have drafted well in the past several seasons, getting several quality contributors in the middle of the draft, including Danny Granger(notes), Roy Hibbert(notes) and Tyler Hansbrough(notes).

“I had a great run there with Larry Bird, and appreciated the opportunity to work with Larry and the Pacers,” Ash told Yahoo! Sports when reached at his Naples, Fla., home on Monday. “I would’ve liked to continue, but I understand the nature of the business. Hopefully something else will turn up once [the lockout] gets sorted out.”

Ash worked for the past 20 years with the Pacers and Houston Rockets as a scout. Ash had been with Indiana for eight seasons.

Winters was a two-time NBA All-Star with the Milwaukee Bucks in his 10-year career, scoring more than 10,000 points. He was also the head coach for two NBA teams – Vancouver Grizzlies (1995-97) and Golden State Warriors (2001-02) – and the Indiana Fever of the WNBA (2004-07).

Perry had been head coach at the University of Idaho for five seasons before joining the Pacers as an assistant coach under Jim O’Brien in 2006.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Pacers have hired Jim Boylen as assistant coach, rounding out Frank Vogel’s staff.
The Pacers had previously introduced Brian Shaw as associate head coach and kept Dan Burke as an assistant.
Boylen was head coach at the University of Utah from 2007 to 2011. In the NBA, he earned two championship rings as an assistant for the Houston Rockets before stints as an assistant at Golden State and Milwaukee.
Shaw comes to the Pacers after being an assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers since 2004. He was part of five championship teams with the Lakers, three as a player and two as a coach.
Burke heads into his 15th season with the Pacers after joining Larry Bird’s coaching staff in 1997.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Pacers have hired Jim Boylen as assistant coach, rounding out Frank Vogel’s staff.

The Pacers had previously introduced Brian Shaw as associate head coach and kept Dan Burke as an assistant.

Boylen was head coach at the University of Utah from 2007 to 2011. In the NBA, he earned two championship rings as an assistant for the Houston Rockets before stints as an assistant at Golden State and Milwaukee.

Shaw comes to the Pacers after being an assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers since 2004. He was part of five championship teams with the Lakers, three as a player and two as a coach.

Burke heads into his 15th season with the Pacers after joining Larry Bird’s coaching staff in 1997.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – The Indiana Pacers have hired Brian Shaw as
their associate head coach and retained Dan Burke from the previous
staff.

Shaw was an assistant for the Los Angeles Lakers last season.
Pacers coach Frank Vogel says Shaw will be like a second head
coach, and he wasn’t sure he could get him when he began seeking
assistants.

Shaw and Vogel were on Los Angeles’ staff together during the 2005-2006 season. Shaw also played with Pacers president Larry Bird in Boston.

Vogel said Burke played a key role in Indiana’s turnaround last season, when the Pacers rallied from a 17-27 start to make the
playoffs.

The Pacers plan to add a third assistant soon.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.