Indiana Pacers Smart to Extend Frank Vogel's Contract Right Now
The Indiana Pacers and head coach Frank Vogel didn't need another distraction in what could be an agonizingly long 2014-15 season.
Between the unanswered questions left from last year's second-half swoon and the casualties suffered over the summer—Lance Stephenson's free-agency exit, Paul George's gruesome leg injury—the reigning Eastern Conference finalists could dramatically descend this time around.
For all the hurdles awaiting Vogel, the uncertainty of a lame-duck status is no longer one of them. The team announced Wednesday it had inked the 41-year-old coach to a multiyear contract extension:
Terms of the deal have not yet been reported, other than the fact that this should keep Vogel in the Circle City for the foreseeable future.
And that should bring a sigh of relief from a franchise in desperate need of one. After being ravaged by some of the worst offseason losses in the business, the Pacers needed something to put their belief behind.
Or someone, rather, and Vogel has certainly earned that type of respect. Since taking over on an interim basis during the 2010-11 season, he has guided the Pacers to four consecutive playoff berths and an overall record of 167-100. His tenure has included five playoff series wins, the last four of which powered the Pacers to back-to-back conference finals appearances for the first time in more than a decade.
It might be a while before Indiana starts competing for something of substance, but this team has been on the short list of title contenders the past few seasons. Looking back at the Pacers' recent success, it's hard not to notice Vogel's fingerprints all over Indy's winning formula.
"You can't look at the Pacers' roster and think that it was all talent; for the most part that talent was developed into star power by Vogel and his staff," wrote CBS Sports' Matt Moore. "Vogel was a huge part of their success, building the best defense in the league and finding ways to create offense with limited skills."
In 2010-11, a season overseen by Jim O'Brien for the first 44 games, the Pacers finished 12th in defensive efficiency. Since Vogel's first full campaign—which wasn't technically full due to the work stoppage preceding the 2011-12 season—Indiana has made tremendous strides at that end of the floor.
| 2010-11 | 100.9 | 17th | 44.9 | 7th | 103.4 | 12th |
| 2011-12 | 94.4 | 10th | 43.5 | T-6th | 100.4 | 10th |
| 2012-13 | 90.7 | 2nd | 42.0 | 1st | 96.6 | 1st |
| 2013-14 | 92.3 | 2nd | 42.0 | 1st | 96.7 | 1st |
Some might attribute that success to Indiana's personnel. After all, George has been an All-Defensive team selection in each of the past two seasons, and Roy Hibbert received the honor in 2013-14.
However, that fails to recognize Vogel's role in these players' performances.
Hibbert, the 17th pick in 2008, had a 105 defensive rating and 7.0 defensive win shares to show for his first three seasons in the league. Over the last three years with Vogel, those numbers have improved to 98 and 12.8, respectively.
As a rookie, George was a part-time player (20.7 minutes) and a 7.8-points-per-game scorer. He's been an All-NBA third-teamer each of the last two seasons, and he set personal bests in points (21.7) and player efficiency rating (20.1) in 2013-14.
Stephenson averaged 10.3 minutes in the 54 games he played during his first two years in the league. Last season, the swingman posted career marks across the board—including points (13.8), rebounds (7.2), assists (4.6), PER (14.7) and true shooting percentage (56.4)—before scoring a three-year, $27 million deal from the Charlotte Hornets this summer.
Vogel had help bringing his players along, as former assistant and current Denver Nuggets coach Brian Shaw had a heavy hand in Indy's talent development, but the head coach has fully supported his guys and, in turn, made them want to give him their best.
"Frank is one of those coaches that are really close to his players," reserve center Ian Mahinmi said, per VigilantSports.com's Scott Agness. "We have his back 100 percent and I think that everybody in this locker room is willing to do whatever for Frank. We're really ready to go to war for him."
The Pacers need to be ready to fight, because nothing will come easily this season.
Between George and Stephenson, the team lost nightly doses of 35.5 points, 14 rebounds and 8.1 assists. And this group had plenty of problems scoring (101.5 offensive rating, 22nd) and setting the table (56.0 assist percentage, 26th) even when it had the versatile wings in action.
What's worse is that the Pacers didn't have the resources to replace that production.
Indiana's largest investment was made in 27-year-old swingman C.J. Miles, who landed a four-year, $18 million contract. The Pacers also picked up combo guard Rodney Stuckey on a one-year deal for the veteran's minimum, and they brought in European sharpshooter Damjan Rudez on a three-year pact.
It's hard to say what Rudez can add to this offense, and the book that's out on Miles and Stuckey isn't great. Last season, while playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons, respectively, the two averaged a combined 23.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists. While each could see those numbers rise with expanded roles, it is worth noting that each player outperformed his career scoring average.
And the question marks aren't restricted to the perimeter.
The Pacers still need to figure out how to bring Hibbert back from wherever he went down the stretch last season. The big man, who averaged just 8.9 points on 39.0 percent shooting and 4.7 rebounds after the All-Star break, had eight points on 40 percent shooting and five boards in Indiana's preseason opener.
David West, Indiana's rock in recent years, turned 34 in August. His backup, Luis Scola, will be 35 by season's end. Both suffered statistical declines last season, and both could see the same this time around as Father Time bears down on them.
It figures to be an exhausting campaign for the Pacers, but as Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix observed, Vogel's extension at least moves him—and, to a lesser extent, his players—off the hot seat:
The Pacers know who will be leading them, and Vogel knows he still has a team to lead.
"I'm excited for the opportunity to continue my tenure as Pacers' coach," he said in a statement on the team's website. "It's an honor to represent the franchise and lead this team. I look forward to the challenge ahead."
Maybe that makes him sound like a glutton for punishment, but he doesn't see it that way. Despite the seemingly insurmountable odds in front of his club, the coach isn't even considering finding a white flag to wave.
"We're going to be fine," he told NBA.com's Steve Aschburner last month. "We've got more than enough to compete with the best and we're going to have another great season. Our approach is, we're going to try to not skip a beat."
Think a team that has been publicly picked apart for the better part of the last year couldn't use a bit of that confidence? Vogel is the right coach to guide this team, both today and tomorrow.
Now, his players won't have to worry whether he will have the opportunity to do just that.
"Whether the Pacers become a 'surprise' team that Vogel expects or descend into the lottery, one thing is certain—there will be stability on the sideline," wrote Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star.
For a franchise still reeling from a pair of brutal blows this summer, stability can be invaluable.
The Pacers needed a strong, confident voice to lead them through a potentially treacherous present. They made the right move tying their future to the man most responsible for their incredibly productive past.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
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