In his first change to the front office as team president, Kevin Pritchard is hiring Chad Buchanan to be General Manager.
These two have a long history, and that’s important. They first met in 2002 while working together for the ABA’s Kansas City Knights. A few years later, Pritchard the Portland Trail Blazers Director of Player Personnel at the time, hired Buchanan as a scout.
For the last three seasons, Buchanan was the assistant general manager for the Charlotte Hornets.
Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical first reported the hire, which has not yet been announced.
Buchanan played baseball and basketball at Simpson College. He then served as their assistant basketball coach from 1997-2002 before moving on to Kansas City. After one season, he left to take an assistant coaching job at Drake University.
You may start referring to the Pacers as Portland East. That’s because there are numerous former Trail Blazers now with the Pacers. Pritchard, Buchanan, head coach Nate McMillan, and assistant Bill Bayno.
[Bill Bayno ‘couldn’t have written a better story’ to be reunited with McMillan, Pritchard in Indy]
Pritchard has been on the job now two months, promoted from GM on May 1 as Larry Bird stepped down. Officially an advisor to the president of basketball operations, Bird is still at Bankers Life Fieldhouse daily.
“That guy, if there is that guy, is kind of like a soul mate,” Pritchard said of potentially filling his previous role. “You spend so much time, you have to be able to argue. I guess it’s like a marriage, too. You got to figure it out, you have to be brutally honest with each other. And that doesn’t happen overnight so I want to be very methodical in how I approach that.”
Joe Freeman of The Oregonian described their relationship like this in 2011: “Buchanan and Pritchard became inseparable. They shared many of the same beliefs about the importance of character, evaluating talent and building a winner.”
Pritchard’s job hasn’t been easy. He is currently working overtime to move Paul George after George’s agent informed Pritchard on June 16th that he planned to leave the franchise after the upcoming 2017-18 season. It’s better to trade now for some value rather than lose their four-time All-Star for nothing.
[Paul George remains a Pacer (for now), but message sent to team officials stings]
In his first draft, the Pacers drafted T.J. Leaf at 18, Ike Anigbogu at 47, and sent cash to New Orleans to select Edmond Sumner at 52. Moreover, Pritchard did not pick up the option on Lavoy Allen’s contract.
The Pacers’ front office now looks like this:
Kevin Pritchard – President of Basketball Operations
Peter Dinwiddie – Vice President of Basketball Operations
Chad Buchanan – General Manager
Larry Bird – Advisor to the President of Basketball Operations
Donnie Walsh – Consultant for Basketball Operations
The basketball community respects Buchanan and how he does his job.
“He’s an honest, straightforward basketball guy. A good guy,” one veteran agent, who has had clients play for the Pacers, told VigilantSports.com. “This is a good hire.”
Great hire by the Pacers. Chad Buchanan is highly respected and well-liked around the league
— Ed Isaacson (@Ed_HunterAM) June 29, 2017
I was fortunate enough to work with Chad for 6 years with the Blazers. Pacers are getting a great talent evaluator and a fantastic person. https://t.co/ONQL2leBvl
— Ben Falk (@bencfalk) June 29, 2017
He managed the team through a very trying post-lockout season, and did it with humility, integrity and mettle. (And got the 6th pick, too.)
— Ben Falk (@bencfalk) June 29, 2017
[Photo: Molly Blue/The Oregonian]
Proud alma mater. Congratulations Chad!