Larry Legend retires again

[Stoney]

why now? This is a team that held a series lead on the eventual NBA champs and has a lot of younger talent in the locker room. It seems like they may be on the verge of breaking through into contender territory. Why walk away now instead of seeing if you can get them into the Finals in the next couple of years.

Oddly enough, he had similar timing with his coaching career--retiring right after finally getting the Pacers to the Finals. Seems he likes to go out on top--maybe it's a lesson learned from his playing career, where he spent the last four years trying to play perpetually injured with a broken back.

 

[Bob Cook]

This is the same guy who walked away from coaching the year he took the Pacers to the NBA Finals and won Coach of the Year, so this is not the first time Bird has walked away when things were good. Bird has persistent back and shoulder problems that he's going to get treated, problems bad enough that it was painful for him to do a basic part of the job -- sit down for long periods and watch film. Plus, Bird operated on a year-to-year handshake, which made it easy for him to walk away when the time was right. Looking back, the machinations over forcing out David Morway and bringing in Kevin Pritchard were designed to ensure he had everything he wanted in place before he left. Plus, it doesn't hurt that Donnie Walsh is coming back.

I wouldn't be shocked to see Bird re-emerge in a few years in some capacity, assuming his health issues are taken care of.

 

[da man]

Let's hope we get another one in our lifetimes.

One of my favorite SI covers of all time.

 

[Stoney]

This is the same guy who walked away from coaching the year he took the Pacers to the NBA Finals and won Coach of the Year.

Not often that one gets a chance to correct Bob Cook on Pacer matters: Bird actually won the coach of the year award in 98 (when the team improved from 39 to 58 wins in his first season coaching), a couple years before reaching the Finals. Just felt like being nitpicky--the overriding point about him going out on top is absolutely valid.

 

[Drip]

Let's hope we get another one in our lifetimes.

One of my favorite SI covers of all time.

The story wasn't bad either.

 

[Bob Cook]

This is the same guy who walked away from coaching the year he took the Pacers to the NBA Finals and won Coach of the Year.

Not often that one gets a chance to correct Bob Cook on Pacer matters: Bird actually won the coach of the year award in 98 (when the team improved from 39 to 58 wins in his first season coaching), a couple years before reaching the Finals. Just felt like being nitpicky--the overriding point about him going out on top is absolutely valid.

Oops, my bad on that one.

EDIT: Last night, I paid my penance by saying prayers at the grave site of Roger Brown.

 

[Bob Cook]

At his goodbye newser, Larry Bird is asked if someday he'd like an ownership stake in the Pacers. His response: "Depends on how much Herbie leaves me in the will." (Herbie being owner Herb Simon.)

In all seriousness, though Bird also says he knows people willing to buy the Pacers and keep them in Indianapolis. With Herb being in his 80s, his former co-owner brother Mel deceased, and the Simon kids showing no interest in taking over the team, it wouldn't shock me if Bird's next move would be as a front for an ownership group.

 

[Piotr Rasputin]

How many championship teams has Bird built as an executive?

How many teams did he build - as opposed to inheriting a veteran group - as a coach?

He's wise to leave. Unless they can somehow acquire a guy with a nickname and a shoe contract - and Indianapolis isn't exactly top of the list for such dudes when they have a choice - this Pacers group has gone as far as it's going to.

 

[BNWriter]

why now? This is a team that held a series lead on the eventual NBA champs and has a lot of younger talent in the locker room. It seems like they may be on the verge of breaking through into contender territory. Why walk away now instead of seeing if you can get them into the Finals in the next couple of years.

This might answer your question, ColdCat:
http://www.pjstar.com/free/x1660539429/Pacers-part-ways-with-Larry-Bird

Reading the article from the Journal-Star paints, for me, a decidedly different picture than the one I got from reading the Indianapolis Star article and the comments that followed here. Being a follower of Missouri Valley Conf. sports as an Illinois State Univ. alum, I admire that one of the Valley's own like Bird has done so well, but I have to wonder about the sugar-coating the Star gave this versus what I read from the Peoria paper today online.

I wish him well and hope he does enjoy life minus a necktie. But I really wonder about the real circumstances of his exit. I do not think I am offbase here based on what I read. Good Luck, Larry.

 

[Bob Cook]

I'm not sure about the AP's use of "parted ways." It sounds like Herb Simon canned him, which is inconceivable. Simon said Bird was welcome to stay as long as he wanted (it was always a handshake deal), and today Bird didn't race out the door, a la Jordan and the Wizards. He stuck around today with Walsh and Pritchard to evaluate potential draft picks, he'll be around on draft day, and he's going to be around during summer league play, too.

 

[Stoney]

I do not think I am offbase here based on what I read.

If you're suggesting that he was really canned--yeah, I think you are off base. There's nothing there to support that other than the somewhat odd "parted ways" word choice. Bird is very much liked by Simon, he just won the Executive of Year Award, and the guy stepping into that GM chair (Pritchard) is someone widely known to be Bird's handpicked choice.

 

[crimsonace]

He's the only person to win MVP, Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year in the NBA.

He'll admit that he wasn't a big Xs and Os guy, but he knew his limitations and surrounded himself with really good assistants (**** Harter & Rick Carlisle). He was an almost perfect coach for a veteran team -- the core of Miller, Smits and Dale/Antonio Davis had been around for quite a while, but Mark Jackson, Derrick McKey, Sam Perkins & Chris Mullin are veterans that had been brought in during that era (and, IMO, his best team was the 1998 team that lost to Jordan's Bulls in a great 7-game series ... not the 2000 team that went to the Finals). They didn't need a tactical genius, but a quiet motivator. I remember Reggie Miller saying something to the likes of "I pinch myself when I realize Larry Bird is my coach" shortly after he was hired.

As an executive, he took over a team that was in complete shambles and was really disliked even by locals. He shed a lot of the bad apples and took his time to rebuild the team, without going for quick fixes. What resulted was a pretty solid, well-put-together team this year that's one stud player away from being really good.

 

[3OctaveFart]

Larry was not a natural executive.
Needless to say, however, he does have a natural feel for the game.
And he is just a natural leader of men.

 

[BNWriter]

I do not think I am offbase here based on what I read.

If you're suggesting that he was really canned--yeah, I think you are off base. There's nothing there to support that other than the somewhat odd "parted ways" word choice. Bird is very much liked by Simon, he just won the Executive of Year Award, and the guy stepping into that GM chair (Pritchard) is someone widely known to be Bird's handpicked choice.

Stoney, If my interpretation is wrong, it is because of AP's phrasing. If everything was done amicably, then the AP writer should have found another phrase. Thanks for your info.

 

[Stoney]

As an executive, he took over a team that was in complete shambles and was really disliked even by locals. He shed a lot of the bad apples and took his time to rebuild the team, without going for quick fixes. What resulted was a pretty solid, well-put-together team this year that's one stud player away from being really good.

And it should be noted that he has also drafted very well in recent years with picks that seemed dubious and were questioned at the time, but have turned out far better than expected (Hibbert, George, Hansbrough, etc). He also nailed last year's pick (Kawhi Leonard) although he traded it to San Antonio for George Hill (a win win trade for both teams). Bird went through a rocky spell earlier in his tenure, but the last few years seems like he's been making all the right moves--it's not easy to turn an NBA team around without any big name free agents or top 10 lottery picks, but Bird seems to have done it with this bunch.

But I think Piotr has a point--not sure how much further this group can climb without that star calibur scorer. They need that one alpha dog piece to push them over into title contention, without it they stay stuck in good but not quite good enough territory.

 

[Bob Cook]

As an executive, he took over a team that was in complete shambles and was really disliked even by locals. He shed a lot of the bad apples and took his time to rebuild the team, without going for quick fixes. What resulted was a pretty solid, well-put-together team this year that's one stud player away from being really good.

And it should be noted that he has also drafted very well in recent years with picks that seemed dubious and were questioned at the time, but have turned out far better than expected (Hibbert, George, Hansbrough, etc). He also nailed last year's pick (Kawhi Leonard) although he traded it to San Antonio for George Hill (a win win trade for both teams). Bird went through a rocky spell earlier in his tenure, but the last few years seems like he's been making all the right moves.

But I think Piotr has a point--not sure how much further this group can climb without that star calibur scorer. They need that one alpha dog piece to push them over into title contention, without it they stay stuck in good but not quite good enough territory.

There are what, maybe, one, two or three players who can get you to that status? Carmelo Anthony once was on that list, but look at the Knicks now. I'm not sure Dwight Howard is that player.

Unless you're lucky enough to get the first pick in a year when a superstar player is available, or draft wisely when you have a few years in a row of lousy picks, or get one of the few prized free agents, at best you're hoping for a conference final, and a little luck along the way.

 

[cjericho]

Phil Jackson won a title as a player and turned out to be a quietly effective coach as well.

He actually got two rings as a player in 1970 and 1973. Yeah, I agree the coaching deal worked out okay.

But he never actually played on the 70 team. He sat out that entire season with injury. And he doesn't have any front office accomplishments on his resume.

Was he ever technically a front office person? No. But if you don't think that he had a large say in what happened with player personnel decisions (especially with the Lakers after he chased Jerry West off), you're nuts.

well coaching and tagging the owner's daughter has to count for something.