Scott Agness: Pritchard said he spoke with Victor Oladipo’s agent yesterday. The biggest message was that Victor is excited to get to camp and show people he’s healthy. Also, Pritchard highlighted a positive early relationship between Vic and new coach Nate Bjorkgren.
Nate Bjorkgren Rumors
According to sources, Oladipo is not as available as he might have been over the summer. He quickly has forged a strong relationship with Pacers new coach Nate Bjorkgren, but the 2019 All-Star is in the final year of his contract.
Some executives around the league question whether the Pacers want to keep Myles Turner after Domantas Sabonis became an All-Star, the team drafted Goga Bitadze 18th overall in 2019, and the Pacers hired new coach Nate Bjorkgren, who’s looking to change the team’s style of play.
Friday, the Indiana Pacers announced two new additions to new head coach Nate Bjorkgren’s coaching staff for the 2020-21 season. Kaleb Canales and Greg Foster were hired as assistant coaches. Additionally, Bill Bayno was retained as assistant coach. Per team policy, the terms of the contracts were not released. Canales holds 12 years of experience as an NBA assistant coach. He spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach of the New York Knicks after five seasons with the Dallas Mavericks in the same role. Canales began his NBA career with the Portland Trail Blazers and spent nine years serving in various roles within the organization. He joined the Trail Blazers as a video intern in 2004 before becoming an assistant coach in 2008 and eventually serving as interim head coach during the 2011-12 season. Canales became the first Mexican-American head coach in NBA history and was elected into the National Hispanic Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.
Bjorkgren has retained assistant coach Bill Bayno, a league source with direct knowledge of the situation told IndyStar on Sunday, for a bench role. Bjorkgren is expected to rotate responsibilities among his staff much as Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse does with his staff, rather than having coaches focus on a specific aspect of the game such as defense or big men. Bayno is the only holdover from McMillan’s staff, with Popeye Jones and Dan Burke going to the Philadelphia 76ers. Bayno is in Los Angeles working out Holiday and Domantas Sabonis.
Marc Stein: The Pacers are hiring the former NBA big man and longtime assistant Greg Foster as part of new Indiana coach Nate Bjorkgren’s staff, league sources say As @NYTSports reported yesterday, Atlanta is hiring former Pacers coach Nate McMillan to bolster Lloyd Pierce’s Hawks staff
Scott Agness: Currently home in Atlanta, Malcolm Brogdon had lunch today with new head coach Nate Bjorkgren. “He’s gonna be terrific,” he said with a big smile. Brogdon appeared on The Jump and shared that his @BrogdonFamFnd will soon build its first well — in Tanzania.
