Rick Carlisle did not take much time off before he landed his new job. He will be returning to Indianapolis where he was previously an assistant and head coach for the Indiana Pacers.
He will move on from Dallas to sign a four-year, $29 million contract. In Dallas, he had an exceptional career, winning an NBA Championship in only his third year with the franchise.
Carlisle coached the Dallas Mavericks for 13 years and finished with a record of 555-478 and nine playoff appearances. During his time in Dallas, he coached some talented players like Luka Doncic, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Vince Carter, and many others.
Coach Carlisle will move on to Indiana where he will inherit a young and talented roster with players like Myles Turner, Domantas Sabonis, Malcolm Brogdon, Caris LeVert, TJ Warren and TJ McConnell. He will oversee getting these young players over the hump as they are no strangers to the playoffs. Although they have not been fortunate enough to get past the first round of the playoffs. The Pacers are coming off their first losing record since the 2014-15 season. He will lead the Pacers in a division where they are foes with the Milwaukee Bucks, but also a team in the same conference as the Brooklyn Nets, Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, and the upcoming New York Knicks.
He will have four years to turn this team around to compete in the Eastern Conference. We as sports fans should be excited to see what he brings to Indiana in his second stint with the team. As a head coach he has been successful everywhere he has coached. This will only be the third team he has coached as the head man on the bench.
