Former Indiana Pacers head coach Nate Bjorkgren hired as assistant with Portland Trail Blazers

Bjorkgren spent one season as the Pacers head coach

May 10, 2021; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Indiana Pacers head coach Nate Bjorkgren reacts in the second quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

INDIANAPOLIS — Former Indiana Pacers head coach Nate Bjorkgren has been hired by the Portland Trail Blazers as an assistant coach. It's the first official coaching role for Bjorkgrean since his head spot with the Pacers.

The Iowa native was the lead coach for Indiana during the 2020-21 season, but things went sideways. The on-court product didn't reach expectations, and he was described as difficult to work with behind the scenes. He was fired after just one season with the blue and gold.

"Part of head coaching is learning how to communicate, learning how to constantly connect with individuals and your team," Bjorkgren said during his campaign at the helm. "That's something I'm going to continue to strive to get better at."

When he was fired, President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard said that Bjorkgren struggled with human management. But there was no doubt about his basketball creativity. While his ways and play style were rigid, he mixed in clever tactics and aggressive schemes.

His basketball mind was often praised, but it wasn't enough. He was let go and then joined the Toronto Raptors in a consulting role for the next two seasons.

He was let go from that opportunity when Raptors head coach Nick Nurse was fired, but Bjorkgren landed in Portland last season as a Special Assistant to the Coaching Staff for head coach Chauncey Billups' group. Now, he is officially an assistant coach.

He and Chris Fleming were each hired into the role, which was identified in the same press release. Bjorkgren has been involved in the Blazers pre-draft workouts recently, as Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report newsletter noted earlier this month.

The Pacers went 34-38 during Bjorkgren's only season in Indiana.

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