Larry Bird, who stepped down as the Pacers‘ president of basketball operations in 2017, has continued to work with the team in recent years in an advisory role, but he didn’t attend any of Indiana’s pre-draft workouts this spring, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files, who hears that Bird no longer has an active role with the franchise.
“Yeah, he’s not active,” current Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard confirmed to Agness.
However, Pritchard suggested that he and head coach Rick Carlisle can still reach out to the Hall of Famer for advice or feedback if they need it.
“Larry is a good friend of mine and he’s a good friend of Rick’s,” Pritchard said. “At any time we need help, we know where to look. He’s always available.”
Bird, of course, was a Celtic for his entire career as a player, but the Indiana native – who played his college ball at Indiana State – spent most of his post-playing career with the Pacers.
Bird was named Indiana’s head coach in 1997, resigned after three years, then was hired as the team’s president of basketball operations in 2003. He stepped away for a year from 2012-13 due to health reasons, but otherwise held his position in the Pacers’ front office until 2017. After stepping down in ’17, he held the title of advisor to the president of basketball operations (Pritchard).
According to Agness, while Bird wasn’t an everyday presence around the team in recent years, he enjoyed attending pre-draft workout in May and June to evaluate prospects and also played a role in the rehiring of Carlisle in 2021. However, Agness says he didn’t see Bird at a practice or game at all during the 2021/22 season.