Kevin Pritchard Says “We All Know Lance is Crazy.” at Press Conference

Larry Bird and Kevin Pritchard took questions from the media this morning as Bird steps down as President of Basketball Operations for the Indiana Pacers.

Today marked the end of the Larry Bird era of the Indiana Pacers. Sorta.

Larry Bird is stepping down as the President of Basketball Operation, while Pritchard takes over the position. However, Bird is remaining with the team as a consultant.

But make no mistake, Pritchard is the captain now.

In their press conference today it was mostly the usual pleasantries and compliments of each other, but there were a few things worth paying attention to, or at least getting a laugh from.

It was part of a longer answer, but Pritchard started his response with that phrase. The question was were they surprised by the way Stephenson played coming back to Indiana. Pritchard indicated that Lance wanted to get back to Indiana — where his best days had come — and they wanted him back to bring energy to the team.

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That energy was evident immediately, as Jeff Teague showed the most emotion we’d seen all year in Stephenson’s first game back. Pritchard mentioned that particular point as well.

Pritchard also talked about his relationship with Larry Bird as well. I’m glad he said he didn’t always see eye-to-eye with his former boss because hopefully that means he can avoid some of the same mistakes that Bird made recently.

There was talk about Paul George as well. I’ll let you read Pritchard’s comment first.

"“We talked about a lot of different things. In every scenario, he talked about being here. That’s important,” Pritchard said. “He wants to win. Picking up Lance late in the year made us a better team and got us into the playoffs. We want to win. We want successful teams year in and year out, and that has to do with Paul. He wants to win, the Pacers want to win, we’re on the same page.”"

That all sounds well and good, but I don’t know if it means anything. We know Paul George has a few different choices about what happens next in his career, but not all of those involve the Pacers. There is no doubt George wants to win, but I wouldn’t read too much into Pritchard’s words here.

Bird was asked if he thought his decision might effect Paul George’s future, but Larry doesn’t think so.

“I don’t think it will impact him at all. Paul’s going to do what Paul wants to do.”

For those worried about Indiana losing the basketball knowledge possessed by Bird, the good news is he will still be scouting for the Pacers going forward.

Bird said his main reason for stepping down is to spend time with his family, but he still wants to be involved in the Pacers organization.

"“I felt it was time to step away in a full-time capacity,” said Bird. “This has nothing to do with my health or our team. I’m 60 years old and I want to do other things away from basketball. I will do some scouting for the Pacers, NBA, college, international, do some appearances and stay in a capacity to advise senior basketball management. I love the Pacers, I grew up with the Pacers and admired them from a very young age. I want to thank the fans for their support throughout my career. I also want to thank (owner) Herb Simon for the many years of loyalty and for allowing me to stay with the team in a different role.”"

Lastly, Pritchard assured us he has coach Nate McMillan’s back.

Though that frustrates fans, it is the logical thing to do. The lack of continuity hasn’t help anyone, and without an obvious name waiting in the wings, chaos isn’t likely to help the Pacers. A rough start to next season could change that, but no one should be surprised Pritchard isn’t getting rid of McMillan.

Next: Quit Worrying About Myles Turner

The Indiana Pacers future is uncertain, but it is in good hands as long as Kevin Pritchard is in charge.