The Indiana Pacers have signed Rick Carlisle as their new head coach. “Rick is a proven winner with a championship and will be a Hall of Fame coach,” said Pacers president of basketball operations, Kevin Pritchard. “He has demonstrated throughout his career an ability to build something with sustainable success. He has great respect for our franchise and our fans from his previous times here. We are very happy to welcome him back to Indiana.”
Carlisle joins Indiana one week after parting ways with the Dallas Mavericks. Carlisle coached Dallas for 13 years and led them to the playoffs nine times, including a championship in 2011. The Mavericks’ season ended in a first-round loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Carlisle will begin his second stint with the Pacers next season. He previously coached Indiana from 2003-2007, leading them to the postseason four times. Indiana won 61 games with Carlisle in 2003-2004, and he was named the All-Star game head coach that season. The team was unable to replicate the same success in the following season due to the infamous “Malice at the Palace” that decimated the roster. The 61-year-old head coach has 836 career wins, the third-most among active coaches. He was also awarded the Coach of The Year in 2002 during his season with the Detroit Pistons.
Carlisle will attempt to improve a young Pacers team and lead them to the playoffs.
