When looking for the next head coach of the Indiana Pacers, President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard and the Pacers' brain trust zeroed in on four key characteristics.
They wanted the new coach to be of high character. They wanted a coach with a winning pedigree. They wanted a coach that was innovative. And they wanted a coach that was a great communicator and would "develop deep-rooted relationships" with players on and off the floor.
After an extremely thorough search process, Pritchard and his staff all came to the same conclusion. Nate Bjorkgren checked every box.
"We felt like this was a no-brainer," Pritchard said of the decision to hire Bjorkgren, who spent the past two seasons as an assistant with the Toronto Raptors.