Following a month of speculation and guesswork, the Indiana Pacers finally dropped the hammer yesterday, firing rookie head coach Nate Bjorkgren after the team missed the playoffs for the first time in six years while getting entangled in an uncharacteristic bout with locker room issues and turmoil in the coaching staff.
The news came as no surprise to many, especially with the Pacers sharply underachieving in the previous season. Overall, the Blue and Gold finished with a mediocre 34-38 record, good for 9th in the East, which then led to an eventful ouster in the play-in tournament. In comparison, while playoff success was still elusive, last year’ team finished 45-28—an impressive tally good for 4th in the conference.
The coaching hunt is on full throttle once more for the Indiana Pacers
What doomed Nate Bjorkgren in this turbulent season was his inability to lay down a seamless communication string on the team and his abrasive human management. His on-court miscues, meanwhile, aggravated a team attack that was not conducive to the team’s personnel.
Clearly, the Indiana Pacers are resolute on remaining competitive, which is indeed viable and realistic assuming they have a healthy roster next season. After all, they are just a season away from finishing in the upper echelon in the East in 2020. Roster decisions are still secondary this time, especially with the coaching vacancy atop the priority list as of writing.
Popular names already crowd the list of potential candidates for the Pacers head coaching job. However, the pool can always be deeper, especially with the league’s wide crest of tremendous strategists on the sidelines. Here are three under-the-radar coaching candidates for the Indiana Pacers after Bjorkgren’s exit.
Under-the-radar coaching candidate for the Indiana Pacers: Becky Hammon
Becky Hammon can coach NBA basketball period.
The league’s first female assistant coach absolutely deserves to be a head coach in the league. She’s had a seamless transition after a one of a kind playing career in the WNBA for the New York Liberty and San Antonio Stars towards sitting as an assistant under Gregg Popovich with the San Antonio Spurs.
I know, the Indiana Pacers are reportedly eyeing a more established and experienced candidate for the coaching vacancy, but considering Hammon’s pedigree, it would be unwise to peg her as a deer in the headlights. She is a brilliant basketball mind whose coaching acumen has surely sharpened under arguably the greatest coach of all time.
As in previous years, Hammon will accrue a lot of interest from teams in need of a new coach. The hypothetical fit with the Indiana Pacers is intriguing, especially with her being instrumental in developing the young core in the Alamo City. It remains to be seen if she’s conducive to the idea of leaving a very stable situation in San Antonio where she’s widely touted to be Pop’s successor, but she’s been to a bunch of coaching interviews already in the not-so-distant past.
The Pacers ownership may or may not be a visionary to make a bold move such as this, but in plain basketball terms, Becky Hammon should be pretty high on their scales.
Under-the-radar coaching candidate for the Indiana Pacers: Sam Cassell
From a player-turned-coach to another, Sam Cassell enjoyed a wonderful playing career bannered by three titles and an All-Star appearance before retiring in 2008. Since then, he immediately pivoted to coaching, serving as an assistant coach for 13 years already.
Currently an assistant for the Philadelphia 76ers, Cassell’s coaching career spans three teams including the Washington Wizards and LA Clippers. He has loads of experience in the NBA, but not as a head coach, which the Indiana Pacers are mounting atop their criteria for hiring. However, his exhaustive tenure as an assistant should be able to upend that.
Most notably, Cassell has done a temendous job serving as a mentor for the league’s floor generals. John Wall credited him for helping him hone his jump shot and playmaking. His basketball IQ is off the charts and his on-court smarts and winning attitude when he was a player should easily cater to the Indiana Pacers’ lofty aspirations manning the sidelines for the Blue and Gold.
Under-the-radar coaching candidate for the Indiana Pacers: Brian Shaw
Experience? Check. Familiarity? Check. Player-turned-coach? Check. In the grand scheme of things, Brian Shaw checks most of the boxes that the Indiana Pacers have in their search for their next man on the sidelines.
He’s only has a two-year career as an NBA head coach, and even that didn’t lead to a fruitful tenure, registering a 56-85 in a couple of seasons with the Denver Nuggets, but context must be given here as he dealt with a depleted team which promptly rebuilt the following campaign. Prior to that, he enjoyed a lengthy 14-year career in the NBA as a player.
Alas, he is also a seasoned NBA assistant coach, serving on the bench for eleven years in stints with the Los Angeles Lakers and… the Pacers. Currently, he is the head coach of the G-League Ignite team in the NBA G-League.
The Indiana Pacers should give Brian Shaw a deserved hard look for what he can bring to the table. A Phil Jackson disciple, Shaw helped Frank Vogel engineer the Pacers’ signature physical defense in the early 2010s which hoisted Indiana as a contender. Perhaps Shaw can work his magic again in the Circle City and restore the team’s lost defensive identity last season.