The 55-year-old Bird was Pacers coach from 1997-2000, taking the team to its only NBA Finals appearance that last year, before returning to the front office in 2003. He took full control of basketball decisions after the 2007-08 season, when Donnie Walsh left to become the New York Knicks’ president.
This year, Bird was the NBA Executive of the Year after building a tough, young team that lost to eventual champion Miami in six games. He is the only person in league history to win that award, the MVP award and Coach of the Year.
The former Indiana State star won three MVP awards and three NBA titles during his Hall of Fame career with Boston.
Bird has spent the last four years building the team into an Eastern Conference contender and said a month ago that he was willing to stay. He indicated then that he had not yet met with Simon to discuss his future.
His status with the team had been the subject of speculation for months. He had stayed with the Pacers on a season-by-season basis, discussing whether to return with Simon each offseason.
Morway’s departure comes literally on the eve of the NBA draft, where Indiana was scheduled to pick No. 26 overall on Thursday night.
“I’m happy,’’ he said. “This is something I spent several months talking to my wife and my kids and Mr. Simon about and Larry. We had a lot of success this year, but at the same time, there was a lot of personal sacrifice that came with it the past few years.’’
The Pacers, well under the salary cap, are expected to be a significant player in free agency.
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