Roy Hibbert Wanted to Play For a Coach With Playing Experience

If you were waiting for Roy Hibbert to start throwing verbal haymakers towards Larry Bird, you’ll be disappointed by his most recent interview. If you are hoping for a perceived jab at Frank Vogel, then you might be happy.

The former Indiana Pacers center sat down with NBA.com’s David Aldridge for a question-and-answer session. They talked about the way things ended in Indiana, but Hibbert said still has respect for his time there and how Bird treated him.

"Aldridge: Are you relieved?Hibbert: I would say that I’m happy to start the next journey in my career. I am happy to be in this situation, but I’m also happy to be starting something new.Aldridge: Did you think it was salvageable in Indy after the season?Hibbert: I mean, I knew after talking to my agent, more than likely I was going to be moved. And I was okay with that. I understood. It’s a business, and sometimes things can change. I didn’t know if I was going to get traded per se, so I was prepared to go back to Indy. So I had prepared myself.Aldridge: Were you surprised that Larry was so pointed in his assessment of the season and your role going forward — which was to say, a much smaller role?RH: Larry says what’s on his mind. He doesn’t hold his tongue. Things happen. Like I said, I enjoyed my time there in Indy. You just have gotta move on, get ready for the next chapter…Larry was very up front with me. He said before the press conference that I can’t promise you minutes next year, and they wanted to go in a different direction. So it wasn’t like what happened came out of nowhere, what he said. I’ll always say that Larry changed my life. I was on the phone with my agent in the office during the (2009) Draft process and Larry said ‘If Roy’s there at 17, we’ll take him.’ That meant a lot to me. I know that things change and the NBA is “What have you done for me lately?”, but I could never say a bad thing about Larry or the Pacers’ organization."

Hibbert seemed to have a long view on his time with the Pacers instead of focusing on the past two years when things went south and he received a good deal of the blame. Hibbert went on to say, as he has before, that he was happy to see David West having his back publicly. Hibbert said one of the reasons Los Angeles is a perfect fit for him is because he has already bought a summer home there.

He also talked about his renewed focus as a defender and how he won’t worry about the offensive end as much anymore. But Pacers fans might take issue with his comments about playing for a coach that used to play in the NBA. (Emphasis added.)

"Hibbert: I’m just going to focus on the defense. I know I said it before, but it’s important to realize I can possibly change the game. When I met with Mitch (Kupchak) and BScott, we came together and we talked about the expectations and what they wanted from me and how I could affect the game. We had a real good talk. I told them, I want to be like that (Andrew) Bogut-type guy, the defensive guy, because we have a lot of guys who can score already on this team. I’m at the point where I want to win a championship, and getting to play with Kobe, it’s an amazing opportunity for me. I wanted to play with a shooting guard or a small forward like Paul (George), who was athletic and can take over games offensively. And I wanted to play for a coach who actually played in the league if I had my own choice. Not to say that Frank (Vogel) wasn’t great. I had some real good times with Frank and we played well. But I told my agent that I possibly wanted to play for a coach that played in the league.Aldridge: Why is that important to you?Hibbert: Just playing for BShaw (Brian Shaw, the Pacers’ former associate head coach under Vogel), he went through the things that a player has gone through. He had a lot of real good insight to help myself, my game, with other guys on the court. Because he went through those things. And when you had two sets of four games in five nights, he was real with us. He would say, if I’m tired, you’re tired. It’s not a huge thing, but I’m really lucky to be in this position."

Looks like he isn’t the only former Indiana Pacers player to think that either.

https://twitter.com/dsloan15/status/625707275521372160

Now before we go about gathering the pitchforks and torches to storm Donald Sloan and Roy Hibbert’s respective homes, let’s pause for a moment.

For some players, having a coach with experience playing in the NBA matters. Like any other job, employees often appreciate it when their bosses or managers to know exactly what it’s like to be a job. It is a preference many people have, and for Sloan and Hibbert it was of particular importance.

In Hibbert’s case it may be more of saying something positive about his current coach Byron Scott than any sort of shot at Vogel. As a fan you might prefer not to see that comment, but it isn’t like Hibbert is saying Vogel is a bad coach. For him, it is a benefit to work with a former player like Brian Shaw rather than a guy who worked his way up from video coordinator to head coach as Vogel did. For some that doesn’t matter, but for Hibbert and Sloan it apparently does.

Considering the things people said about Hibbert when he was a Pacer, I’m sure these comments won’t fade away quietly.

Next: Larry Bird Says He's One of the Best Shooters Ever

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