Pacers announce coaching staff changes, begin Summer Pacers workouts and sign rookies

Jannero Pargo is leading the Summer Pacers, but Rick Carlisle announced some changes to his staff on Saturday.

The Summer Pacers had their first full practice on Saturday as they will spend the next five days or so preparing for Sumer League games in Vegas starting on July 8.

Player development is the primary goal of the summer session with at least eight players on the roster (including two-ways) taking part. Jannero Pargo, who is normally sweating through that player development process while directly working with the players, has taken a step back with the opportunity to coach the Summer Pacers.

The team spent the first 45 minutes of practice working on defense according to Pargo, picking up on the focus Kevin Pritchard laid out after the season. Of course, this sounded similar to the approach Rick Carlisle started preseason practices with last September, so we’ll see if the change in personnel will pick up the defensive focus better this summer.

Speaking of Carlisle, the Pacers head coach addressed the media briefly to announce changes to the staff and also add some insight into a change in approach among the staff this season. Ronald Nored accepted a new position on Quin Snyder’s staff with the Atlanta Hawks. With Nored’s departure, Jenny Boucek will move to the front of the bench. Veteran coach Jim Boylen will fill in behind the bench after spending much of last season in a consultant role. Boylen also worked on Frank Vogel’s staff for a couple of years.

Boylen was working with Oscar Tshiebwe on his midrange footwork and shooting after practice. Rick Carlisle was also working with Mojave King on some fundamental shooting work. Both coaches seem to be in their natural habitat working individually with the young players, helping them understand all of the tiny details that go into improving.

Carlisle was asked about how Nored’s role as defensive coordinator would be filled and Carlisle revealed he and the coaches have been meeting to develop a different approach which likely wouldn’t designate one coach as a coordinator of the offense or defense.

“I’m working through that and we’ve had some really good discussions about it,” Carlisle said. “So we’ll see. I’ve always had coordinators but I think it might be time for a change and I think there may be some real positives from doing that. I’m evaluating all the possibilities and taking a real close look at everything that is going on here. Fortunately, I have a really good feel for all the staff people and know them well. Jim (Boylen) was around an awful lot last year so we’ll be in good shape.”

Sounds like the biggest adjustment may be for Carlisle who, as he mentioned, has always had coordinators. So, it is quite interesting to see Carlisle zooming out and assessing the coaching process with his team after all of the experience he has leading NBA teams.

I have to admit that when Carlisle started talking about coaching changes I thought there may be a chance we’d hear about Dan Burke returning. Of course, I have no idea where the relationship between DB and Carlisle (or the organization) sits at this point, but we all know, if defense is the focus, Burke is your man.

With that in mind, I did ask Carlisle if he considers the coaching staff complete with the adjustments he announced. “I believe so,” Carlisle responded.

Hmm, sounds like some wiggle room to me!

Rooks in the fold

The Pacers waited until the media left to announce the signings of rookies Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard to their rookie first-round contracts. Of course, the team did log the event to release on Twitter.

Jarace Walker did not discuss his contract but when asked about Tyrese Haliburton, did express an interest in a Rolex were his new teammate wanting to spend some of his big new payday.

Here are some highlights from the practice via the Pacers:

Here is the media availability via the Pacers: