NBA News: Pacers Fire Nate Bjorkgren After One Season

Last week, several NBA teams started moving on from their head coaches. The Boston Celtics, who parted ways with their President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge, promoted Brad Stevens to the position. Instead of taking on both roles, Stevens will focus on running the Celtics' front office, moving on from being the head coach.

Meanwhile, the Portland Trail Blazers moved on from Terry Stotts after his team once again failed to make it out of the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Then, the Orlando Magic and Steve Clifford went their separate ways after just a few seasons since the Magic signaled they are embarking on a rebuild.

Now, the Indiana Pacers will join the search for a new head coach. According to ESPN's NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the Pacers have fired Nate Bjorkgren officially on Wednesday. Per Wojnarowski's report, Bjorkgren met with the Pacers on Tuesday to discuss his future with the organization.

Nate Bjorkgren is out as Indiana's coach, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 9, 2021

After just one season, Bjorkgren struggled to keep Indiana's locker room intact. As many behind-the-scenes issues have become known to the public over the last few months, it was becoming clear the first-year head coach was possibly on his way out.

Although the Pacers had an opportunity to crack the playoffs this season as they earned an invite to the NBA's Play-In Tournament back in May, the Pacers lost the eighth seed out to the Washington Wizards after defeating the Charlotte Hornets in the first matchup.

It's unclear if a playoff appearance would've been enough to save Bjorkgren's job or not, but at this point, the idea is irrelevant. After a rough first season as the Pacers' head coach, Bjorkgren will search for an opportunity elsewhere while the Pacers will consider other candidates.