INDIANAPOLIS (AP)—Indiana Pacers players want interim coach Frank Vogel to
get the full-time gig.

Now, it’s up to team president Larry Bird to make a decision.

It’s been more than a month since the team’s season ended and the waiting
game continues.

“I’ll be happy if Frank gets picked,” said center Roy Hibbert(notes) before
playing in a charity softball game for the Indiana Children’s Wish Fund. “I’ve
been with him since I was a rookie, so I hope he gets it. I understand that
Larry’s taking his time now, but I’m pulling for him (Vogel).”

Bird has called Vogel the favorite from the beginning of the search, and the
team has had several conversations with him. He took over for Jim O’Brien at
midseason, went 20-18 to close the regular season and led the team to its first
playoff berth since 2006.

“I think Frank did an excellent job, stepping in without the experience of
a head coaching job,” Bird said after the season ended. “The way he conducted
himself, he brought positive energy to this team. We won more games than we
lost. We did it with a young team, a team that’s trying to grow.”

Early in his tenure, Vogel claimed that Eastern Conference powers Boston,
Miami and Orlando wouldn’t want to play the Pacers when—not if—they made the
playoffs. He introduced “smashmouth” basketball, an approach that focused on
attacking the basket instead of O’Brien’s perimeter-oriented game. He moved
Tyler Hansbrough(notes), a second-year player, and Paul George(notes), a rookie, into the
starting lineup and helped restore Hibbert’s confidence.

It all helped them get into the playoffs and compete well before losing 4-1
to the top-seeded Chicago Bulls.

“I really feel strong about having Vogel around,” George said. “I love
him as a coach, as a person. But I have no control over it. I have to just go
with whatever Mr. Bird goes with.”

Vogel said as the season ended that he wanted the job and said with
confidence that he feels he proved himself. He didn’t expect a decision to be
made quickly.

“It’s really up to Larry and the front office,” Vogel said. “Anytime
you’re making a decision as important as this, you never want to rush into it.
Whatever timetable they decide is fine with me.”

Indiana was interested in Mike Brown, but the former Pacers assistant and
Cleveland head coach took the job as Los Angeles Lakers head coach. But the
players have favored Vogel since he took over.

“I would like to see Frank get it,” guard Lance Stephenson(notes) said. “He
helped us out this year. He made us come in more as a group. I hope Larry Bird
sees what happened and we can move forward.”

George would like to see a decision made soon.

“It’s still up in the air for me,” he said. “It’s something that I want
to know, but it’s something I have no control over.”

Cliff Brunt can be reached at http://twitter.com/cliffbruntap.

Read More: Taj Gibson (F – CHI)

The 2011 NBA Draft is just two weeks away, and while Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird has worked out seemingly every college prospect available, from BYU phenom Jimmer Fredette to former-Butler star Matt Howard, SB Nation’s Tom Ziller thinks Tristan Thompson from Texas is a possibility at pick No. 15:

15. Indiana Pacers: Tristan Thompson, PF, Texas

At this point, if I compare a prospect to Taj Gibson, is that a nice thing to say? I mean, he dunked on Dwyane Wade! No one dunks on Dwyane Wade. “Taj Gibson 2.0″ should be a compliment.

So far, Ziller has had Indiana selecting Markieff Morris, Kenneth Faried, Donatas Motiejunas, and now Tristan Thompson. Basically, what that means is Tom is trying to select every possible player that would likely still be there at No. 15. Then, when draft night comes, it’s like the lottery.

Throw enough ‘balls’ into the mix, and your number is bound to get picked. It’s the same with Mock Drafts.

If Tom picks ten different players between now and June 23rd, chances are pretty good one of those ten will get drafted. Tom can then pluck out a mock draft from, say, four weeks ago, and start writing about his mutant powers of clairvoyance.

The 2011 NBA Draft will (mercifully) arrive on June 23rd, 2011. For more on NBA draft prospects, check out Ridiculous Upside.

The Indiana Pacers are going to re-sign Frank Vogel and remove the ‘interim’ from his coaching title. Why they are taking so long to do this is anyone’s guess. The Pacers are hardly the model of NBA executive-level efficiency. Their own team president isn’t even under contract, and the only thing binding him to his duties is a ‘handshake agreement’ with the owner.

I know. I too often wonder if the brass at Conseco Fieldhouse have any idea how second-rate they look working in this way. Next thing we’ll hear is Larry Bird isn’t being paid with money, but instead receives weekly shipments of beer and beef jerky to his home in Florida.

Regardless, unless Vogel changes his mind, he’s got the job. The only conditions surrounding it are he must, essentially, fire his entire coaching staff.

From Mike Wells at the Indianapolis Star:

Vogel met with team president Larry Bird on Wednesday, and he was informed that he’ll have to hire three assistant coaches if he’s named coach, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation.

Vogel notified assistants Jay DeFruscio, Walter McCarty and Vitaly Potapenko after his meeting with Bird that they will not be part of the staff if he’s the Pacers coach next season.

Longtime assistant Dan Burke is expected to remain on staff.

Wells goes on to say that Bird and owner Herb Simon want a veteran coach and a former player to help Vogel in the locker room. The Pacers had locker room issues at times this season.

Interestingly, the biggest locker room incident last year centered around Larry Bird’s insistence on the team playing malcontent point guard Lance Stephenson over A.J. Price. The Pacers went 1-8 during that little experiment, culminating in a locker room altercation between Stephenson and teammates after a 108-98 loss to the Raptors on March 11.

Two days later, Stephenson was benched for the remainder of the season. The Pacers went 10-5 to close out the month of March, earning a playoff spot.

Call me crazy, but adding a veteran coach and a former player to the bench likely will not quell discontent over unpopular and meddling decisions placed on the coaches and players by management. If Larry Bird wants to help create better locker room harmony, one could suggest that he start by not blowing draft picks on headcase players like Lance Stephenson.

For more on the Indiana Pacers, visit Indy Cornrows.

BYU star Jimmer Fredette completed workouts in Indianapolis on Tuesday afternoon with the Indiana Pacers.

Reports coming out of the workouts are that Fredette was very impressive. Duke’s Nolan Smith, Marcus Morris of Kansas, Tobias Harris of Tennessee and Vernon Macklin of Florida also took part in workouts for Larry Bird and other members of the Pacers organization. Fredette also has plans to work out with the Knicks, Sacramento, Utah and Phoenix.

Here’s a report on Fredette’s performance in Indiana. Check out an interview with Fredette from Tuesday after his workout. He also appeared on a show called “Pacer’s Crate” that you can watch here.

The 2011 NBA Draft is set for June 23, 2011, which is exactly 23 days away (for those of you who can’t do math. The Indiana Pacers pick No. 15 in the draft, and SB Nation’s Tom Ziller thinks Larry Bird will not have a shot at BYU sensation Jimmer Fredette even though Bird had a scheduled pre-draft workout with Fredette and five other prospects today.

By all accounts, the Pacers came away impressed with Fredette after the workout.

But, according to Ziller, Jimmer won’t fall past pick No. 12. This means the Pacers must look elsewhere to bolster their roster. 

15. Indiana Pacers: Markieff Morris, PF, Kansas

Maybe the Pacers can draft a coach at No. 15.

Morris was one of the famed ‘Morris twins’ at KU last year. He’s was a passionate defender and rebounder in college, and he showed a strong knack for hitting three-pointers (42% from behind the arch).

The Pacers have a big need at the power forward spot, and Morris shows the potential to fill that need.

Read More: frank vogel, frank vogel job status, frank vogel nba, frank vogel pacers, Dan Burke (A – IND), Frank Vogel (A – IND), Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers held their first NBA Draft workout on Thursday. The most interesting news to come out of the event had nothing to do with the players in attendance, however, as the news that interim head coach Frank Vogel wasn’t in attendance took the lead.

Vogel took over the Pacers midway through the 2010-11 season, guiding the team to a playoff berth against the Chicago Bulls and a 20-18 record while he was at the helm, but that didn’t stop president of basketball operations Larry Bird from interviewing other candidates.

It did stop Bird from inviting Vogel to preside over Thursday’s workout, however, so that the other candidates don’t get the wrong impression.

“I’m talking to some people and I’m talking to (Vogel),” Bird told the Indianapolis Star. “When these guys come in, I don’t want them to think he’s going to be the coach.”

In Vogel’s place, assistant coach Dan Burke and Bird ran the pre-draft workout.

The Indiana Pacers will host a few draft-eligible players Thursday to see what they’ve got. The group will include such hopefuls as Purdue’s JaJuan Johnson, Villanova’s Corey Fisher, Michigan’s Darius Morris, and Josh Selby out of Kansas, among others. Someone who won’t be there is interim coach Frank Vogel and not because he doesn’t want to be.

The Indianapolis Star reports that Vogel was asked by Larry Bird to not go to the workouts since interviews are still occurring with other potential candidates to take the open coaching position.

“Bird doesn’t want to send the wrong message to other potential candidates about Vogel’s status,” the paper reports, even though the Star also notes that Bird called Vogel the frontrunner for the job last week.

“I’m talking to some people and I’m talking to (Vogel),” Bird said, according to the paper. “When these guys come in, I don’t want them to think he’s going to be the coach.”

Let the rumors come to you. Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

Source: Indianapolis Star

Related: Indiana Pacers

By Brad Wells

– Editor

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May 19, 2011 – The Cleveland Cavaliers secured the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft via the lottery. With the draft order now set for one through thirty, it’s time to roll out the NBA mock draft season.

Tom Ziller at SB Nation has the Cavaliers taking Kyrie Irving, PG, Duke with the No. 1 pick. For the Indiana Pacers, at pick No. 15, Ziller thinks team president Larry Bird will go big:

15. Indiana Pacers: Donatas Motiejunas, C, Lithuania

Motiejunas won’t likely fall this far, not with a certain 7-foot European gunner lighting up the NBA Playoffs. The Pacers need help on offense, and a stretch big man could be a nice addition to the Roy Hibbert-Tyler Hansbrough tandem.

It’s interesting to note that BYU phenom and Naismith Award winner Jimmer Fredette is going to Utah with the No. 12 pick, according to Ziller’s mock. Should Fredette fall that far, folks like Will Carroll think that Larry Bird might be enamored with Jimmer.

Do people really think Larry Bird will pass on Jimmer Fredette?

Jimmer in Blue and Gold would certainly attract more attention for the team with the lowest home attendance in the NBA.

The NBA Draft is June 23rd.

Read More: Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers

INDIANAPOLIS
– Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird says he’s interested in contacting Mike Brown and Rick Adelman about filling the head coaching spot.

Brown, a former Pacers assistant, led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the 2007 NBA Finals and was NBA coach of the year in 2009.

Adelman was interviewed the last time the Pacers had an opening. Adelman went 193-135 in four seasons with the Houston Rockets before leaving the team last month. He ranks eighth in NBA history in wins with a career record of 945-616.

Bird says interim coach Frank Vogel, who took over at midseason, is the front-runner. The 37-year-old took over when the Pacers fired Jim O’Brien, finished the regular season with a 20-18 record and led the team to the playoffs.

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Cliff Brunt can be reached at http://twitter.com/cliffbruntap.

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird says he’s interested in contacting Mike Brown and Rick Adelman about filling the head coaching spot.

Brown, a former Pacers assistant, led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the 2007 NBA Finals and was NBA coach of the year in 2009.

Adelman was interviewed the last time the Pacers had an opening. Adelman went 193-135 in four seasons with the Houston Rockets before leaving the team last month. He ranks eighth in NBA history in wins with a career record of 945-616.

Bird says interim coach Frank Vogel, who took over at midseason, is the front-runner. The 37-year-old took over when the Pacers fired Jim O’Brien, finished the regular season with a 20-18 record and led the team to the playoffs.

__

Cliff Brunt can be reached at http://twitter.com/cliffbruntap.

Read More: Frank Vogel (A – IND), Indiana Pacers

Carrying on his press conference at Conseco Fieldhouse, Larry Bird indicated that Indiana Pacers interim head coach Frank Vogel is “obviously the frontrunner for the job,” but would interview other candidates as well.

Bird also said that hiring a head coach was not as important as preparing for the upcoming NBA Draft, since he could run the workouts for prospective players. In the last two years, Bird has drafted Tyler Hansbrough, A.J. Price and Paul George, all of whom played significant roles in the Pacers reaching the first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs, pushing the Chicago Bulls throughout a five-game series.

Bird and the Pacers put an end to the speculation regarding his immediate future, as Larry will stick around Indiana for another season. The Indy Star reports: “The Indiana Pacers are keeping their president and general manager. The team announced today that president Larry Bird and general manager David Morway will return to the team next season. The announcement comes after Bird and owner Herb Simon met in Los Angeles today. Bird and Morway were in the final year of their contracts. The next step for Bird is to hire a new coach. Frank Vogel appears to be the frontrunner for the job. He led the Pacers to a 20-18 record and to the playoffs for the first time since 2006 after replacing the fired Jim O’Brien in late January. Bird said earlier that Vogel will get the first and last interview.”

The Indiana Pacers are keeping Larry Bird as team president.

The team made the announcement on Tuesday after Bird met with owner Herb Simon in Los Angeles. Bird was in the final year of his contract.

The team also announced that David Morway will stay on as general manager.

The Pacers now will decide how interim coach Frank Vogel fits into their plans. The 37-year-old Vogel stepped in at midseason and had a 20-18 regular-season record. The Pacers challenged the Chicago Bulls in the playoffs before losing their first-round series 4-1.

The Pacers are coming off their first postseason berth since 2006. The team has four starters with three or fewer years of experience, and the franchise will have the financial flexibility to add pieces.