Nate Bjorkgren has been on a rollercoaster in his first season as the head coach of the Indiana Pacers. Despite having an above-average start in the first month of the season, the injuries in the roster started to appear as well as the losses.
After losing to the Washington Wizards by 27 points in the play-in tournament, the team’s season came to an end and the goal of reaching the postseason was not accomplished.
During the season, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that Bjorkgren was one among several coaches that were candidates to be in the hot seat.
Inside look at coaches on the potential hot seat as NBA playoffs near:
– Blazers' Terry Stotts
– Bucks' Mike Budenholzer
– Pacers' Nate Bjorkgren
– Kings' Luke Walton
– Wizards' Scott BrooksNew on @TheAthletic with @sam_amick: https://t.co/UTUhCrHbCJ
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 5, 2021
With the team out of the postseason, the Pacers president Kevin Pritchard addressed the situation with coach Bjrorkgren.
“No decisions have been made. I’m being evaluated every day. (Team owner) Herb (Simon) has to decide if I’m fit for this job and what I need to improve on. Then Nate and I will have a long conversation over many days on what he needs to improve on. He is our coach as of now and I’ll have a fair discussion with him.”
Bjorkgren was hired as the replacement of Nate McMillan before the season started and there some high expectations after his tenure with the Toronto Raptors as an assistant coach. If the team decided for him to stay, the postseason will be again the goal and even more with Myles Turner and TJ Warren healthy after battling this season with injuries.
