The Pacers recently parted ways with Nate McMillan, hiring Raptors assistant Nate Bjorkgren. Former Trail Blazers player and Indiana native Bonzi Wells had some candid, honest takes on the hire.
It might not appear to be the case at first glance, but the Portland Trail Blazers and Indiana Pacers are a bit more connected than what meets the eye.
Earlier this summer, the Pacers cut ties with former Blazers head coach Nate McMillan after a four-year marriage, and a 183-136 record to show for it. As his replacement, the Pacers went the unconventional route, hiring former Raptors assistant coach Nate Bjorkgren.
On a recent episode of Let’s Get Technical, former Blazers players Rasheed Wallace, and especially Bonzi Wells, had candid reactions to the news. Wells had this to say about it:
"“With that hire, they immediately lost the team, and like 50 percent of their fanbase. And listen I get it, and it just seem like this is what the league does trend-wise. They always try to jump on the bandwagon of teams, and they try to steal guys who won a championship, and championship pedigree and all that type of stuff.Listen, I get it. You know what I’m saying? Some of these coaches, they’ve been on the bench a long time, that probably deserve that job. I’ve been in the league since the ‘90s, and I’ve never heard of this man before. And there’s so many people that been on this bench for a long time and probably deserve their first chance. So with that being said, for me, I don’t give him a chance because I’ve never heard of him.”"
It deserves to be noted that Wells is likely just speaking in terms of being a Pacers supporter. He alluded to the Pacers needing a noteworthy name to get behind, noting Chauncey Billups. That’s probably a statement many Pacers fans can agree with, in terms of being a player’s coach with a proven identity as a former NBA player.
Wallace got a kick out of the group’s struggles in saying Bjorkgren’s name, before discussing his own team, the Philadelphia 76ers, and their recent signing. He said he wasn’t quite down, or on-board with the hiring of Doc Rivers.
There’s difficulty ever counting out a disciple from the Nick Nurse coaching tree, especially given Nurse’s reputation as the ultimate player’s coach. The Raptors’ franchise players spoke brightly of him, and just how exuberant his impact was in the locker room.
It’s unclear what the Pacers’ expectation will be in Year One, particularly with the amount of trade rumors swirling with Victor Oladipo and T.J. Warren. Bjorkgren will be following up McMillan, a coach who’s normally a guarantee for a 45-win season — and historically, little more and little less.
In 16 seasons, McMillan has only coached one team beyond the first round in 2005. But to his credit, he’s almost always guided injury-riddled teams that managed to band together and overachieve, a staple during his time with the Portland Trail Blazers. He coached them to their most successful regular season since 1999-00, a 54-win season in 2008-09.
That prompted an interesting back-and-forth with Wallace, Wells, and Gerald Brown: would you rather be a middle-of-the-pack postseason fixture without true championship aspirations, or one on the rebuild as a small market?
That was one topic among an intriguing, hour-long show. The Pacers-specific dialogue can be found above, and the entire show can be found through this link.