Vogel likely but Brown, Adelman could coach Pacers

INDIANAPOLIS—Interim coach Frank Vogel is the front-runner to take the Indiana pacers coaching job, team president Larry Bird said Tuesday, but he still wants to meet with two former NBA coaches.

Mike Brown and Rick Adelman are also on the list that the retired NBA legend plans to speak with before deciding who will have the job full-time for the 2011-2012 NBA campaign.

Vogel replaced the fired Jim O’Brien and went 20-18 over the final months of the season to help the Pacers reach the NBA playoffs, where they lost in the first round to Chicago.

“A lot of people out there feel like Frank’s probably going to get the job, but it’s a process,” Bird said. “We want to do everything we can possibly do to get the right guy in.”

Former Pacers assistant Brown guided the Cleveland Cavaliers, then led by superstar LeBron James, into the 2007 NBA Finals. Brown was voted the NBA Coach of the Year in 2009.

“I like Mike,” Bird said. “Mike did an excellent job when he was here, a fantastic job in Cleveland.”

Adelman went 193-135 in four seasons coaching the Houston Rockets but ended his stint with the club last month. His career record of 945-616 ranks eighth in NBA history.

Bird praised how well Adelman did this season despite the loss of Chinese star center Yao Ming after only five games with a broken foot. Yao struggled with injuries during most of Adelman’s time guiding the Rockets.

“I like Rick. He had so many injuries down there and he still won a lot of games,” Bird said. “I’ll probably make a call, just to see where he’s at.”

Among other clubs looking for coaches are the two-time reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, who lost to Dallas in the second round of the NBA playoffs in what coach Phil Jackson said was his final season in the job.