Category: Indiana Pacers Blog

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Malcolm Brogdon steps up for Pacers in win over Rockets

In tonight’s Pacers win over the Rockets, guard Malcolm Brogdon shot 13 of 25 for 35 points, seven assists and three steals. Via the Indianapolis Star:

With Victor Oladipo struggling and another big in foul difficulty for the Indiana Pacers, they still had Malcom Brogdon.

Brogdon, who made the winning shot in the previous game vs. New Orleans, led the Pacers past the Houston Rockets, 114-107, on Wednesday. It was his second consecutive 30-plus-point game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

The Pacers (6-2) had 4 shot-clock violations in the fourth quarter, including with the score tied at 103. T.J. McConnell and Oladipo passed up open 3s as they flirted with disaster.

John Wall (28 points) led Houston, which mostly played small-ball.

Pacers hire Calbert Cheaney and Tyler Marsh as assistant coaches

The Indiana Pacers yesterday made six new additions to head coach Nate Bjorkgren’s coaching staff for the 2020-21 season.

Calbert Cheaney and Tyler Marsh were named Assistant Coaches/Player Development, Dylan DeBusk was named Video Coordinator, and Maurice Baker, Earl Barron and Moses Ehambe were hired as Video/Player Development Assistants.

The most interesting story on the Pacers roster these days revolves around shooting guard Victor Oladipo, and his future with the team. He’ll be paid a reported $21 million during the 2020-21 season, but then his contract is up. Indiana faces some tough decisions, and ones that will be tough to make perhaps until they and the rest of the league how well Oladipo plays at the start of this season now that he’ll presumably be at full health.

Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon wins 2019-20 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award

Indiana Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon has won the 2019-20 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, as administered and selected by the Professional Basketball Writers Association (PBWA). Named after the NBA’s second commissioner, the honor is presented annually by the PBWA to a player, coach or athletic trainer who shows outstanding service and dedication to the community.

Brogdon was one of five finalists for the 2019-20 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, along with Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday (who played for the New Orleans Pelicans in 2019-20), Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Josh Okogie and Atlanta Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce.

The finalists were chosen by a committee of PBWA members from nominees submitted by NBA teams. The winner was determined by a vote of the entire PBWA, which is composed of more than 200 writers and editors who cover the NBA regularly for newspapers, magazines and online news outlets.

“The depth and breadth of Malcolm Brogdon’s commitment to making a positive difference is inspiring,” said PBWA President Josh Robbins of The Athletic. “Members of the Professional Basketball Writers Association salute him and commend his fellow finalists and nominees for their exemplary work.”

NBA All-Star weekend in Indianapolis, Indiana rescheduled from 2021 to 2024

The NBA and the Indiana Pacers announced today that NBA All-Star in Indianapolis, which was originally scheduled for Feb. 12-14, 2021, will now be held Feb. 16-18, 2024. Public health conditions prevented the Pacers, the NBA All-Star Host Committee and the NBA from appropriately planning and executing fan-focused All-Star activities in Indianapolis that were envisioned for this February.

The 2024 NBA All-Star Game will take place at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, home of the Pacers, on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024. Plans for a revised NBA All-Star 2021 will be announced at a later date.

“While we are disappointed that the NBA All-Star Game will not take place in Indianapolis in 2021, we are looking forward to the Pacers and the city hosting the game and surrounding events in 2024,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “I want to thank Herb Simon, Steve Simon, Rick Fuson and the entire Pacers organization as well as the NBA All-Star 2021 Host Committee and the community of Indianapolis for working with us to reschedule our All-Star activities.”

“We are excited about the opportunity to bring Indiana the very best All-Star experience in 2024,” said Pacers owner Herb Simon. “The efforts of so many Hoosiers to prepare for NBA All-Star 2021 put us ahead of the game for the hard work to come, and we are so grateful to the NBA for once again recognizing Indianapolis as a city that delivers world-class events.”

NBA All-Star 2024 in Indianapolis will follow Cleveland in 2022 and Salt Lake City in 2023 as All-Star host. The 2024 game will mark the second NBA All-Star in Indianapolis, which hosted the midseason classic in 1985.

Pacers re-sign Justin Holiday

The Indiana Pacers have re-signed Justin Holiday to a contract.

According to the Indianapolis Star, the deal is “three years for $18.8 million — fully guaranteed.”

Holiday, a 6-6, 181 pound guard/forward, was the only Pacers player to appear in all 73 regular season games during the 2019-20 season and averaged 8.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and a team-best 1.2 steals per game in his first year in Indiana. He shot a career-best 40.5 percent from 3-point range and ranked 19th in the NBA in that category during the regular season.

“Re-signing Justin was one of our main priorities going into free agency,” said President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard. “His contributions last season were tremendous. He can play multiple positions and is extremely versatile. He also represents this franchise as a true professional, on and off the court.”

More from the Star: Holiday “made $4.76 million last season with the Pacers, who were expecting competition from the New York Knicks for his services.”

Holiday has averaged 8.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.0 steal per game over seven NBA seasons with the Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia 76ers.

Pacers hire Kaleb Canales and Greg Foster as assistant coaches

The Indiana Pacers have hired Kaleb Canales and Greg Foster as assistant coaches, joining new head coach Nate Bjorkgren’s staff for the 2020-21 season. Additionally, Bill Bayno was retained as assistant coach.

Canales holds 12 years of experience as an NBA assistant coach. He spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach of the New York Knicks after five seasons with the Dallas Mavericks in the same role. Canales began his NBA career with the Portland Trail Blazers and spent nine years serving in various roles within the organization. He joined the Trail Blazers as a video intern in 2004 before becoming an assistant coach in 2008 and eventually serving as interim head coach during the 2011-12 season. Canales became the first Mexican-American head coach in NBA history and was elected into the National Hispanic Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.

Foster served as an assistant coach of the Atlanta Hawks during the last two seasons (2018-20) after spending four years as an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks (2014-18). He began his NBA coaching career as a player development coach with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2013-14 after spending two seasons in the collegiate ranks at Texas-El Paso, his alma mater. Selected with the 35th overall pick in the 1990 NBA Draft, Foster played in 656 career games over 13 NBA seasons with the Washington Bullets, Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Seattle SuperSonics, Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors.

Bayno enters his fifth season as an assistant coach with the Pacers. The Pacers have recorded a 183-136 (.574) record during the regular season over the past four years and have reached the postseason in every season. Bayno previously served as an assistant with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Toronto Raptors and Portland Trail Blazers.

New Pacers coach Nate Bjorkgren says team style will be aggressive, disruptive and fun

The new head coach of the Pacers is saying all the right things from a fan entertainment standpoint. Which sounds great to us as well. Here’s the Indianapolis Star:

The Indiana Pacers didn’t want to stick with the old when it came to their coaching search. They pushed the envelope. Got out of their comfort zone. Thought outside the box.

Amid all the cliches to conjure up, they produced anything but a cliche hire when Indianapolis met Nate Bjorkgren on Tuesday.

“Very disruptive. Very aggressive style,” Bjorkgren said about what his offenses and defenses will look like when next season starts. “We’ll be a fun team to watch. You’re going to see a lot of movement on both sides of the ball. You’re going to see weakside movement on the offensive end. You’re going to see different players handling the ball and pushing it up the floor. We want to look for more possessions. We want to utilize the free throw line getting to the rim. Utilize that 3-point line.”

In other words, these Pacers will look 180 degrees different in how they play compared with how Nate McMillan ran them for four years before he was fired in August.

The Pacers probably won’t be active in free agency this summer. The team’s key players, including Malcolm Brogdon, Victor Oladipo, Jeremy Lamb, T.J. Warren, Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner, are signed at least through 2020-21. Their core, assuming it gets kept together, is pretty set, so coach Bjorkgren is walking into a situation where chemisty does already exist. Expect to see the Pacers in the 2021 NBA playoffs.

Will Pacers keep or trade Victor Oladipo?

The Pacers should remain a good team next season. But whether shooting guard Victor Oladipo will be around for 2020-21, or beyond, is a topic for discussion. Here’s the Indianapolis Star with a summary:

Rumors about Victor Oladipo’s future with the Indiana Pacers have run rampant since the NBA restarted its regular season in late July.

There was confusion around Oladipo’s decision to not play in the bubble before he changed his mind and suited up, fueling rumors of his unhappiness. Then he showed signs of displeasure with his role on the court, and refused to publicly express a desire to stay with the Pacers long term.

Oladipo is signed with the Pacers for the 2020-21 season and then will be eligible to become an unrestricted free agent.

Are the Pacers headed for a Paul George 2.0 situation where they’ll be forced to move their star player to prevent losing him for nothing?

The article goes on to explore some Oladipo trade ideas, so click through for that.

Indiana Pacers hire Nate Bjorkgren as head coach

The Indiana Pacers have hired Nate Bjorkgren as their new head coach.

Bjorkgren (pronounced BEE-ork-gren) served as assistant coach of the Toronto Raptors during the past two seasons (2018-20), and helped the Raptors win their first NBA championship during the 2018-19 season. He also served as player development coordinator and assistant coach of the Phoenix Suns for two seasons from 2015-17 before joining the Raptors as an advance scout during the 2017-18 season.

Per the Indianapolis Star, “Bjorkgren replaces Nate McMillan, who was fired after four seasons in charge and three first-round sweeps.”

“We are very pleased and excited to have Nate as our new coach,” said President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard. “This was an extensive and thorough search, and when we reached the conclusion, we felt strongly Nate is the right coach for us at the right time. He comes from a winning background, has experienced championship success, is innovative and his communication skills along with his positivity are tremendous. We all look forward to a long, successful partnership in helping the Pacers move forward.”

Prior to his tenure as an NBA assistant, Bjorkgren served as a head coach in the NBA G League for four seasons and compiled a 126-74 record (.630) with the Bakersfield Jam (2014-15), Iowa Energy (2013-14), Santa Cruz Warriors (2012-13) and Dakota Wizards (2011-12). He served as an assistant coach under current Raptors head coach Nick Nurse for Iowa from 2007-11 and helped the Energy win the 2010-11 NBA G League championship.

“I am honored to take on the role as head coach of the Indiana Pacers,” said Bjorkgren. “This is something I have prepared for during my career. I want to thank Kevin, Chad (Buchanan), Kelly (Krauskopf), Larry Bird, Donnie Walsh and Herb and Steve Simon for this opportunity. I also want to thank Nick Nurse for giving me my first professional coaching job 14 years ago.

“I’m looking forward to working with this great team to achieve our goal as NBA champions.”

Bjorkgren is a native of Storm Lake, Iowa. He played basketball collegiately at the University of South Dakota and Buena Vista University in Iowa.

Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis is now engaged

Indiana Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis hasn’t been able to play basketball lately due to injury, but he’s been productive on the personal side of things, as evidenced by happy news shared by the Indianapolis Star:

Indiana Pacers forward-center Domantas Sabonis may be battling plantar fasciitis issues but it didn’t prevent him from getting down on one knee.

Sabonis posted pictures of the romantic moment on Instagram Wednesday evening.

“I’m the luckiest man in the world,” Sabonis posted after proposing to girlfriend, Shashana.

Cool.