How attractive is the Pacers head coaching vacancy compared to others around the league?
Seven NBA teams will have a new leader on the sideline come next season. Among the more than 20% of the league in need of a new head coach is the Indiana Pacers, who relieved Nate Bjorkgren of his duties after just one season as Nate McMillans replacement. The attractiveness of the Pacers coaching vacancy depends on who is evaluating, but it ranges from middle of the pack to the least attractive option available. ESPN+s Kevin Pelton, who ranks the Pacers opening No. 3 out of seven  the highest among the latest rankings  points out that in terms of job security, the Pacers' opening looks ideal. The fallout between Bjorkgren and the Pacers players and front office has been well documented. Bjorkgren was hired to move the team deeper into the playoffs, replacing four-year Pacers coach Nate McMillan, whose Atlanta Hawks will face the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pacers organization would like to establish new leadership to get the franchise back into a position where it can make some noise in the playoffs. Pelton acknowledges that next years projected starting five are all at least 25 years old, so it is unlikely for the roster, which many believe has hit its ceiling, to grow into a contender in the East. The Pacers finished the regular season ranked No. 14 in offense and defense , according to Cleaning the Glass. That, along with a minus 0.4 point differential this season, puts them at the cusp of average, and their head coaching vacancy at No. 6 on CBS Sports Brad Botkins list. Though he is not high on the Pacers job, Botkin says that the lack of serious expectations has to be a silver lining. The good news is short-term contention probably isn't an expectation, Botkin wrote. Or at least it shouldn't be, so maybe you get some time to get something going as long as you don't run the whole locker room the wrong way.  Botkin said the Pacers have a solid foundation. Though Caris Levert, Myles Turner, T.J. Warren, Malcolm Brogdon, and Domantas Sabonis missed a combined 143 games, a new season means a new, healthy slate in Indianapolis. Any head coach who can bring the Pacers out of the first round of the playoffs, a feat the franchise has not achieved since 2014 despite making the playoffs in each of the past five seasons before this year, would immediately be celebrated by fans from South Bend to Evansville. That wasnt enough for NBCSports.coms Darren Hartwell to rank the Pacers vacancy higher than last place among seven potential landing spots. Hartwell describes the Pacers as the the classic NBA purgatory team, and points out that while they have not won a playoff series since 2014, they also have not had a top 10 draft pick since 2010, when they selected Paul George. Hartwell admits that it may not be difficult for the next Pacers head coach to fare better than his their predecessor, but he is not convinced that there will be more excitement around this current Pacers squad than other teams looking for head coaches including Dallas, Boston, Portland, Washington, Orlando and New Orleans. Jack Winter of SI.com notes that a major plus that the Pacers have going for them is general manager Kevin Pritchard, a highly-regarded leader in the NBA, who is the reason Winter has the Pacers job ranked No.4 in the NBA right now. Kevin Pritchard is among the most respected veteran decision-makers in the league, Winter wrote. He says that Pritchards blunt ownership of the debacle that Nate Bjorkgrens brief time in Indiana turned into is something that any head coaching candidate would undoubtedly observe and appreciate.