Reggie Miller is one of the best shooters the game has ever seen. His “eight points in nine seconds” is one of the most amazing things you’ll ever see on the court. But he’s, ummm, less than easy to listen to in the broadcast booth. I’m not breaking any new ground by saying that. Follow any number of NBA fans and bloggers on Twitter during a Reggie Miller broadcast and you’ll see more than a few jokes at his expense.
Thankfully, it seems Indiana Pacers owner Herb Simon is here to rescue us all… by hiring Reggie to run his team.
Indiana Pacers owner Herb Simon has heeded Larry Bird’s private and public proclamations that Bird is working his final year as the team’s president, that his staying through the lockout had been a favor to his boss. As Simon investigates possible succession plans, there’s one candidate emerging over everyone else: Pacers legend Reggie Miller.
Simon has been canvassing people he respects – including his longtime former general manager Donnie Walsh – for opinions about how they believe Miller would do with the transition from television to management. Several people with longstanding ties to Miller and the Pacers are pushing Miller to pursue the job, and as one tells Yahoo! Sports: “He’s going to look hard at this, if it’s presented in the right way.”
Thankthe Knicks, Donnie Walsh is free to go wherever he wants. And if Simon is serious about installing Miller once Bird’s time is done, you can bet, as Wojnarowski suggests in the piece, that Walsh will be back in Indy to help guide him through the process.
The question for Reggie is whether he’ll want to subject himself to the slings and arrows that someone like Kevin McHale has. McHale’s resume as a player is unquestionable. But his resume as an executive is a bit of a punchline. Is Reggie willing to risk his standing in Indiana for the chance to run his former team?
At this point, I’d say anything would be better than listening to him talk during games. We finally got rid of Mark Jackson. Seeing Reggie go would be a double bonus. Maybe then these guys can hire someone who can string coherent sentences together.
