Jack McKinney coached the Pacers to their first winning season in the NBA, but also traded away a future pick they could have used to draft Michael Jordan.
McKinney, who died on Tuesday at age 83, replaced Bobby "Slick" Leonard in 1980 after Leonard had completed 12 seasons as the head coach. Leonard, who had led the Pacers to three championships in the American Basketball Association in the early 1970s, struggled through five consecutive losing seasons before being released by first-year owner Sam Nassi at the end of the 1979-80 season.
McKinney came to the Pacers as both an accomplished coach and sympathetic figure.