Old News: From Larry Brown to Larry Bird
On this day 28 years ago, Larry Brown left his job as the Indiana Pacers head coach with two years left on his contract.
Why it matters: Brown deciding it was time to move on allowed Larry Bird to move in for a short but sweet coaching run that went as far as the NBA Finals.
Driving the (old) news: By the end of April 1997, Brown was the Pacers' winningest coach in history with a 190-138 record after four seasons.
He also led a franchise that had never won a playoff series before to the Eastern Conference finals twice.
Yes, but: His last season was one marred by frustration with a team he felt he could no longer lead.
The Pacers finished 39-43 that year and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1989.
"I'm leaving because I think it's time to move on," Brown said in an May 1, 1997 L.A. Times story. "This year was really disappointing. I didn't accomplish what I was hired to do."
Between the lines: In that same story, Pacers president Donnie Walsh said he had preliminary discussions with Bird about the coaching job.
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