The Pacers made their move on coach Frank Vogel on Thursday, with team president Larry Bird announcing that he would not be bringing back the franchise’s second-winningest coach. It was not an unexpected decision, as Bird had clearly soured on Vogel, in part because Vogel ditched the Pacers’ attempt to move to an up-tempo small-ball style during the season.
All Vogel did, though, was win 45 games with a mismatched, thin and undersize roster, then take the Pacers to a seventh game in their series against the Raptors. Vogel could very well wind up with another job — perhaps in Houston — before next season, and will remain at the top of candidate lists if he does not.