Rick Carlisle 2023-24 Exit Interview | Indiana Pacers

Rick Carlisle 2023-24 Exit Interview | Indiana Pacers

a season like this where you guys take the steps forward to be in the playoffs for the first time of this era of Team how do you build off of that what are the next steps for you you to this group well fir the first very important step is to um begin recruiting Pascal sakam in Earnest you know that will start today with exit meetings um he is a he’s a great player he was tremendous for us um the acquisition uh of him in you know late January um really was a a key enabler for us to not only make the playoffs but be able to advance in the playoffs um and so that’s something that you just simply cannot take for granted you know you trade for a guy he has a good experience but you know you gota you got to let him know uh how important he is and so um that will uh we’ve we’ve been doing it all along really but today is more of a hey you know you’re our guy what uh one thing he said was that um when you get this far you know sometimes you can feel like okay like you’re going to get back there again and it’s important to remember that’s it’s that hard to get here uh in the first place I what um you know what how important is it for the guys to take that lesson as well that you don’t obviously start in this position position uh next year and what are most important things you look at and say these are the areas where we’ve just got to get better to at least get back and take the next step yeah um you know the same way you can’t take for granted that a player like Pascal is going to automatically just want to be back um you can’t make any assumptions about the fact that you get to the Conference Finals one year that means you’re going to just get there the next that’s obvious um you know a year ago we sat uh internally and talked about a plan to reach the Eastern con Conference Finals within three years and so it it happened in one year now this is this is year two of a rebuild um this has been accelerated uh significantly by a couple things the acquisition of Tyrese halberton which which changed the trajectory uh dramatically and the the acquisition of Pascal and the fact that all these all these pieces fit well together um put us in a in a strong position this year so A lot’s been learned um guys that have been firsttime playoff players have learned about the intensity the road environment um the physical and mental mental demands of playing every other day with um elevated competition virtually you know virtually every week um and so a lot will a lot will be taken from that um you know I I’ve been I’ve been very forthright about the fact that we’re a we’re a small market franchise but we have Big Dreams you know when we qualified for the playoffs after beating Atlanta in the last day of the season I I was very um very Ste fast about what our attitude needed to be going into it that we just weren’t simply just happy to be there um and and that’s and that’s it’s and it’s important to to be vigilant about those feelings that said this is a league that is um more even from top to bottom than it’s ever been um the margins are very slim um you know you go into a game seven in New York City City in Madison Square Garden um you know you’ve got to play at the highest possible level and our guys did I’m so proud of what they did that day and set set an all-time playoff record for offensive efficiency was amazing was amazing but those things don’t guarantee anything the following year you know so um those experiences will give this team uh a tremendous amount of confidence going forward um but no guarantees deviate if at all from the original plan you guys had for building this into what you wanted it to be long term well Chad’s going to speak to you guys later on today and he can speak more to the Personnel side of it you know my my feelings are that the most rewarding part of this job has been the Player Development aspect of it the relationships and the development of of young guys um guys like namard and matheran you know I see Miles Turner still as a as a as a younger veteran player that’s still developing Tyrese’s has gotten better um you know Pascal has has has developed within our system um and so you know Isaiah Jackson you know Jaylen Smith you know you go right down the list Obi toppen had an amazing year with us and and took you know incredible strides and so um when you’re small Market team you you’ve got to be there there are certain things you’ve got to be great at you got to be great at Player Development you’ve got to develop a defensive system that’s consistent we took strong steps to toward doing that um you know in December and we won the two series that we won with um intense full court pressing defense and we you know we really worked and wore both of those opponents down um you know we we because we play a fast pace you know we weren’t holding teams in the 80s or anything like that but we were playing a style and with a physical persistence that was a winning formula and so tons of credit to to our players for their willingness to give everything I mean they gave everything to this season into this playoff run um you know the losses in the games against Boston were very disappointing um but Boston was opportunistic they have they have great talent and they made hellacious plays to win those games and so you know you you got to take your hat off to them and and we learned things by going through those experiences youv talked about the defense at length there I mean what where do you see I guess the most what do you think are the most important strategy you need to make going forward on that end I mean where where how far do you you’ve talked a lot about the progress that you made during the course of this season where do you feel like is kind of the next step for this group defensively what’s the most important are the most important things you need to see as you try to get better on that end well we need the the understanding that it’s it’s a Mainstay as an important part of what we’re doing um Tyrese made a lot of lot a lot of strides defensively um I thought that he really battled in all these series and and teams were really attacking him because they know he’s he’s our best player most important player but you know he he showed that he can hold the line and and that he can do it and that we can that and that we can win in the play off S um going into this summer you know when we talk to our guys in exit meetings a lot of the talk is going to be about um getting the right amount of rest and then continuing to develop strength durability and then mental toughness comes with as you build those things um certainly the the experience in the playoffs um is another contributor to you know just just a um you know a a defiant attitude competitively for for this group and so those are the important things um you know your best players have to have to lead the charge on the things that are the most important things and you know I thought I thought Tyrese Pascal and Miles all really were were right there with us you know selling the importance of defense and and and intensity and full commitment in what way was this season fulfilling for you personally in terms of getting to the Conference Finals but also having those opportunities to do those Player Development things like you said and those one-on-one moments with younger players yeah just you know the relationships here are just amazing you know working with a guy like Tyrese is you know it’s it’s Second To None um you know Pascal came in and you know he he’s a he’s he’s an amazing person from a from a different background with a different set of experiences in his past and just listening to him and and you know a guy like that coming from a situation in Toronto that has a different style has great has great wisdom has great wisdom and you know bridging Bridging the and filling in the gaps between um the things that that that they successfully did there and the things that we need to do differently here um you know those conversations were great and and there there was there was there was a real uh collaborative um Spirit there you know with with Pascal and he he was amazing man he was just he was just he was just tremendous and so and you know I just you know I I just have a lot of love for Miles Turner I I just you know for what he stands for what he’s done here what he’s been through um he’s very special I mean s foot guys that that protect the rim that can make threes can make mid-range shots um and that have his level of character um aren’t growing on trees and you know there was there’s been a lot of talk over the years about you know um trading him this that and the other um I’m so glad that the decision was made by the by the by Kevin and Chad and the organization to to to stay with Miles um uh you know the moves that were made with Tyreese coming on board um miles going to Center fulltime was a was a huge was a huge lift not only to miles but to this franchise as well and so um but again I just you know I I get back to the relationships with the players and then my staff has been tremendous I mean when you talk about Player Development um you know Lloyd Jenny Mike uh Jim boan um know Player Development guys uh janiro Pargo Isaac yob yob and and mo Baker Zach Chu these guys have just been you know tremendous and and they’re with our players all the time all the time keep constantly communicating constantly listening and and and just building a lot of Sweat Equity by being on the floor with these guys you made a point of mentioning last night Tyrese being in the uh you know playing for the Olympic team obviously Andrew doing as well for Team Canada what uh just what do you want to see I guess from them or what do you hope to see I guess uh in terms of just development and what that can mean for them just being a part of those uh scenarios basically being a part of those teams well there’s a there’s a level of confidence that you gain by being a part of something like that um you know and so um that’s that’s going to be a given I believe um you know I I believe Tyrese W will be an important part of their team um because he’s such a connector um he he’s a he’s a ball mover but he’s he’s also an efficient scorer and shooter you must have great shooting um in the Olympics I mean the games are 40 minutes it’s a totally different game um and he played so well last summer so I he’s going to have a great summer I think Andrew same kind of thing you know um they they wanted him on the team last year he he decided that he wanted to spend the time in the summer working on his game and and trying to develop his game to to facilitate him and us having a great year here with the Pacers so that’s something that that I really appreciated we really appreciated and you know they’re smart Canada is smart bringing mathine um you know into the mix even though he will be unable to play but just getting getting him in that environment um that will help Ben it will it will help us um because you know Team Canada has got to be up there they’ll be one of the top two or three teams in the world headed into this thing you know along with the United States along with Serbia you know France is going to be great um I’m you know and so it’s just GNA it’s going to be super competitive and those those games are so compelling because you know once you get out of pool play I mean it’s one and done you don’t you don’t have any you don’t have no seven game series to figure figure things out and figure out who’s more talented and all that kind of stuff so um those experiences this summer will be very very valuable since you mentioned Ben I mean you obviously had him around throughout you know this this postseason basically how you know how tough was it knowing how much of a competitor he is that he did not get to be a part of this but how much did you also try to make sure that he was around as much as possible and got to sort of soak it in from in the to what you could yeah Ben Maan has a chance to be a star caliber player for the Indiana Pacers um he has gotten to see over the last two and a half months what wins and it is defense speed quick decision making and recognition and so so you know his his workouts this summer are going to be geared toward fast um efficient and quick decision-making and and and developing defensively he has the ability to be a terrific two-way player in this league um his competitiveness is well documented you know they have they I don’t know where they got this thing but they’ve got a they’ve got a calendar thing where you pair off days and so from a from a certain day going forward it gives the date that that that particular day is but also how many days into the process you are so they got a thing that count is counting Counting up or counting off the number of days since his surgery so he’s at like 74 days now 73 days and so and this guy’s way ahead of schedule with this thing I mean it’s it’s been freakish you know I mean and he attacks everything with such uh with such intensity and so I mean I the possibilities are there for him um we’ll have a really important meeting with him today to lay to lay all this out more um and you know I I’ve been saying this really for two years that you know everything here has got to be earned we’re not giving anything to anybody you know we’re just not doing it um you know his his place his place on this team and and as a as an impact player will be will be earned you know as as as as everyone else’s has and so um and and I and I know he looks forward to doing just that

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle speaks to the media following the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.