Even before Nate McMillan was fired in Indiana, Mike D’Antoni was rumored to be the guy they wanted in Indiana. Once interviews started, Dave Joerger’s name jumped to the front of the line, another coach who has had success running up-tempo, modern offenses.
Now it looks like Pelicans assistant Chris Finch might be the next Indiana coach, reports Kevin O’Conner of The Ringer.
Sources: Chris Finch is considered the frontrunner to be the next Pacers head coach. Finch has been with the Pelicans since 2017.
Heat assistants Chris Quinn and Dan Craig will interview with Indiana next.
Chauncey Billups and Dave Joerger previously had convos with Indiana.
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) October 13, 2020
First, take every rumor with a grain of salt. From agents to team personnel, every reporter’s sources have reason to spin the story to fit their needs.
One thing to take away from this, the Pacers seem to be looking at top assistants now. Finch, who started his coaching career in Europe, has been an assistant coach with the Rockets, Nuggets, and Pelicans in the NBA. He is highly respected around the league and is one of the assistants near the front of the line deserving a head coaching gig.
The Indiana job is not an easy one. There are high expectations from ownership and management. McMillan’s’ teams played hard and defended, something not every NBA team does, but the offense needs modernization. How big a leap this team makes may rely less on the style of play and more on if Victor Oladipo has returned to his All-NBA form.
