Bird refuses Pacers' offer
Former coach opts for retirement in Florida over control of franchise's basketball operations.
The Indianapolis Star
June 22, 2000
Larry Bird will decline the Indiana Pacers' offer to take over the franchise's basketball operations and return to retirement in Naples, Fla., team sources told The Star Wednesday.
Bird met Wednesday afternoon with Pacers president Donnie Walsh, but was not available to the media.
Walsh also declined comment, saying he wanted to speak with Bird before determining how to handle the announcement.
"I'd like to wait on this until (today)," Walsh said.
Bird's return to Naples, where he lived for five years after retiring as a player, has been a growing assumption among Pacers' staff and players for several weeks. He said in February he was "90 percent" certain he would do so. He later backed off that comment but told reporters following the Pacers' season-ending loss to Los Angeles in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Monday that he was leaning toward doing so.
Bird was given the opportunity to take over the Pacers' basketball operations when he signed a contract to coach the team three years ago, with Walsh staying on to negotiate contracts and direct the front office. Bird would have had the option of replacing Walsh as team president after Walsh retired.
Sources close to Bird said he has more interest in owning a franchise than working for one as an executive.
He has expressed interest in putting together a group to buy the Boston Celtics, and said during the season he would prefer to own the Pacers because of Conseco Fieldhouse. Neither team is for sale, however.
Bird received a 2 percent ownership share of the Pacers for each of the three seasons that he coached.
Bird, who has business interests in Naples, where he maintained a home during his coaching career, has not discounted the possibility of returning to an NBA team in some capacity in the future.>>>>>