Here’s what’s happening in the world of the Indiana Pacers:
Team adds new coach to the bench
The Indiana Pacers have an amazing coaching staff led by Rick Carlisle. It also features some prominent assistant coaches in Lloyd Pierce, Ronald Norad, Jenny Boucek, and Mike Weinar. This elite lineup of coaches on the bench is one of the reasons fans should be so optimistic about the future. And the Pacers have added another individual to their coaching staff that many might know and be excited about.
Conner McCaffrey, son of Iowa head coach Fran McCaffrey, has joined the Pacers coaching staff. If you are a fan of the BIG10, which many Pacers’ fans are for obvious reasons, you are likely very familiar with the first-family of Iowa Basketball who had this viral interaction with a referee this season:
https://twitter.com/theScore/status/1629587040743325698
Conner was a highly successful in two sports coming into college (Baseball and Basketball) and was able to play both at the collegiate level. His ability to show drive and have talent across sports could be, in general, a useful tool to the Pacers franchise on staff.
While it’s doubtful that Conner will contribute meaningfully to the wins and losses of the team, it’s good to see the Pacers giving opportunities to players and coaches that are trying to break into the industry.
The Pacers have been listed as a potential landing spot for Harrison Barnes.
One group believes that the Pacers have a chance to bring in Harrison Barnes. The Pacers desperately need help at the power forward position, and rumors are that Barnes may want a change of scenery out of Sacramento.
Complicating the matter is that the Pacers currently have the 7th overall pick in the NBA draft and will likely use it to draft a power forward to fill the gap, making the need for Barnes much less prominent.
Our guess is that if Barnes were to become an Indiana Pacer, it would only be if they traded seven away for a high-end player for their starting rotation and were going to make a run at the playoffs. However, given recent comments by Chad Buchanan, it’s looking unlikely this would happen.
Haliburton is set to drive the pace car at the Indianapolis 500.
For those of you attending this year’s Indy500, you are going to see a familiar face behind the wheel of the pace car. Point guard Tyrese Haliburton will be helping to kick off the event, cementing himself as an Indianapolis star.
pace car practice.✔️
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) May 26, 2023
Tyrese Haliburton is ready to lead the field to green at the 107th #Indy500 on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/erQY0qh0Sa
On Thursday, Haliburton got behind the wheel and practiced/learned the in’s and out’s of driving the pace car from Sarah Fischer.
Tyrese Haliburton spent about 40 minutes behind the wheel learning from Sarah Fisher. He pushed 145mph. pic.twitter.com/05JR8x7am9
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) May 25, 2023
Tyrese went through the whole episode with a smile on his face and the charm that many of us in Indiana have grown to appreciate about the young star. However, let’s hope they don’t get him going too fast in the pace car, we would appreciate him coming back safe and sound ready for the 23-24 season!
Other recent news from the team:
- Pacers’ GM gives hints as to team strategy in the NBA draft
- Indiana Pacers: Time to capitalize on LeBron and Lakers desperation
- NBA Rumors: Pacers may have first-round agreement with prospect