After just a single season, the Indiana Pacers have parted ways with former head coach Nate Bjorkgren.
Pacers have a roster that should be a solid Eastern Conference playoff team with Sabonis, Brogdon, LeVert, Turner and Warren — and couldn't move forward with a young coach who struggled managing locker room and staff. Had Pacers been moving toward rebuild, maybe Bjorkgren stays. https://t.co/blXqxbzLiE
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 9, 2021
Already, the team reportedly has a successor in mind in former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts.
Over the last several days, Terry Stotts has become increasingly linked by league sources as a leading candidate to be Indiana’s next head coach.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 9, 2021
Unlike Bjorkgren who had no prior experience as an NBA head coach before the Pacers hired him, Stotts is a veteran. He just finished his 13th season as a head coach and carries a 517-486 career record.
Stotts had his first tenure as a head coach in 2002 when he was promoted by the Atlanta Hawks to the position in the 2002-03 season.
He was let go by the organization after the 2003-04 season and found another head coaching gig in 2005 with the Milwaukee Bucks. While he guided the Bucks to the 2004 playoffs, he was fired the towards the end of the following season.
After several years as an assistant coach, Stotts was hired by the Trail Blazers in 2012. It was in Portland where he found success and established a reputation as a players’ coach.
Stotts coached the Trail Blazers for nine seasons and was able to lead the team to the Western Conference Finals in 2019.
