Larry Bird has decided to step down as the president of Indiana Jones and this comes as a huge shock for the team. This summer is going to test their strength and it remains to be seen how they deal with Bird's exit.
Larry Bird has resigned as the president of Indiana Pacers and this decision comes at an adverse time for the Indianapolis team. According to Fox Sports, Kevin Pritchard, general manager of the team will fill in his shoes but this exit is a warning for the team. They need to get their act together and rebuilding is the only option they have, which, Bird never showed any interest in during his tenure.
The most important thing that Indiana Pacers need to consider is Paul George. The team cannot do without him and what Indiana Pacers can do is let George ball out the next season and it could make him renew his contract. The only glitch is that Bird has tried to mold George in a different fashion all this while.
He tried to get George to be more focused on teamwork. Nevertheless, Indiana Pacers will have to try really hard to keep him from moving to Los Angeles Lakers. Speculations are rife that George is not happy with the way things are going and this summer could see tough negotiation, ESPN has learned.
As for Bird's resignation, he did not have any health issues but more will be revealed when he addresses the press on Monday. Still, insiders claim that it was always Bird's plan to push for Pritchard as the next president and he would suggest the same to owner Herb Simon. During the last few years, Bird had shown a preference to renew his contracts on yearly basis.
It is worth mentioning here that Larry Bird took over as coach of Indiana Pacers in 1997 but resigned in 2000. 2003 saw him coming back to the team and he became the president of basketball operations. He took a year off in 2012 but came back next year.
