Larry Bird will step down as president of the Indiana Pacers with Kevin Pritchard taking over basketball operations.

Bird is expected to continue working for the Pacers as a consultant. Bird was head coach of the Pacers in the late 1990s and returned to the team in 2003 as President of Basketball Operations. Bird left the Pacers in 2012 due to health issues before returning a year later.

The Orlando Magic have also been asking around about Bird as a possible candidate for president.

Pritchard previously ran the Portland Trail Blazers and joined the Pacers in 2011. In 2012, Pritchard was promoted to general manager working under Bird.

The Indiana Pacers were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in their first round series, quickly setting up a potentially momentous offseason for the franchise with Paul George.

George was asked whether he wants to remain with the Pacers and what it would take for him to be convinced stay.

“I ain’t even at that point, yet,” George said after the loss.

George has been connected to the Los Angeles Lakers, a franchise desperate for a star of his magnitude. 

“End of the day, it falls on me. I can always do things better,” George said.

George and the Pacers have been on the losing end of LeBron James' teams repeatedly in the playoffs.

“It’s real frustrating to continue losing to the same team, or the same person. It’s what I work hard for in the summer, to try to help lead a team of my own and it’s ultimately who I’m always going to see and face. But again, came up short. Didn’t do enough,” George said. “If we want to win, that’s the team that we have to work towards stacking up against. If we want to be serious, that’s the team we’ve got to look at and figure out how can we match up against them.”

Herb Simon had a rare one-on-one interview to discuss the state of the Indianapolis Pacers ahead of the start of the playoffs.

Simon was asked about his thoughts on Paul George's play this season and his future with the franchise.

"This guy has taken over the team and pulled us up," said Simons. "I think very highly of him. I think he was incredibly personable at our breakfast in New Orleans during the All-Star weekend. He was very open. He wants to be a champion. He wants a winning team and it’s our job to get him one. He’s got that desire to be a special player, which he is, and to have a special team. We’re all on the same wavelength. It’s just a matter of we both have to produce. He has to produce and we have to give him the players to produce with."

George was the subject of trade talks at the deadline.

"Basically, we were offered a lot of things. We didn’t even think of taking any of them. (President) Larry (Bird) will give you a better feel for it, but the answer is you can’t stop people from making offers. But it wasn’t any question of accepting any of them."

Simon believes the Pacers can win a title with George.

During the final seconds of the Indiana Pacers' 109-108 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1, Paul George passed the ball to C.J. Miles when he was double teamed. George was expecting to get the ball back from Miles, but instead Miles missed a 14-footer.

"I talked to CJ about it," George said. "In situations like that, I gotta get the last shot. I was asking for it. CJ took it upon himself."

"CJ had a pretty decent look," Nate McMillan said. "We have to make that shot."

LeBron James believes George made the right decision.

"I can only speak for myself. When you're doubling me, I'm giving it up. That's me," James said. "I don't know how everybody else feels about that, but if you get a double, I think we all know math in here: There's two guys on the ball, and that means there's a 4-on-3. You have your numbers. So if you're the best player on the floor, that doesn't mean you have to take the shot. I think he made the right play, and you live with the results."

Paul George and Chris Paul have been named the NBA's Players of the Month for April.

George averaged an NBA-high 32.8 points and added 8.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists as the Pacers went 5-1 in April to clinch a playoff spot for the sixth time in seven seasons. 

Paul averaged 21.2 points, 9.8 assists and 5.0 rebounds in April while the Clippers went 5-0.

The Indiana Pacers' Nate McMillan and the LA Clippers' Doc Rivers were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in April.

McMillan guided the Pacers to a 5-1 record during April, tied for the best mark in the Eastern Conference. Indiana closed the month and the regular season with five consecutive victories to secure the seventh playoff seed in the East. For the month, the Pacers ranked third in the NBA in scoring (115.5 ppg) and fourth in field goal percentage (50.1) and point differential (plus-11.7). 

Behind Rivers, the Clippers went 5-0 in April to finish as the NBA's only undefeated team for the month and extend their regular-season-ending winning streak to seven games. LA outscored its opponents by a league-best 16.4 points per game and led the NBA in field goal percentage (51.5). On the final day of the regular season, the Clippers defeated the Sacramento Kings 115-95 to clinch the fourth playoff seed in the Western Conference.

The Indiana Pacers’ Paul George and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook were named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, April 3 through Sunday, April 9.

George paced the East in scoring (31.7 ppg) and tied for seventh in rebounding (9.0 rpg) while shooting 57.4 percent from the field as the Pacers went 3-0 for the week to climb into seventh place in the East with two games to play. On April 4, he scored 18 points in the third quarter to helped erase a 19-point deficit before finishing with 35 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals in a 108-90 victory over the Toronto Raptors. On April 6, he tallied 23 points, 10 rebounds and four steals in a 104-89 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Westbrook led the Thunder to a 3-1 week behind averages of 32.5 points (second in the West), 12.5 rebounds (third) and 10.3 assists (third). On April 9, he recorded his 42nd triple-double with 50 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists in a 106-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets, breaking Oscar Robertson’s 55-year-old record for most triple-doubles (41) in a season. It also marked the third time Westbrook scored 50 points in a triple-double this season. Westbrook also logged his 19th 40-point game of the season with 45 points in a 103-100 win against the Memphis Grizzlies on April 5.

Paul George believes he is deserving of an All-NBA selection this season.

If George is named to one of the three All-NBA teams, he would become eligible for a designated veteran player extension with the Indiana Pacers worth more than $200 million.

"For contract reasons (All-NBA) is important. But I'm not thinking about contracts," George said. "If my performance down the stretch lands me on the All-NBA, which I think I'm deserving of, then so be it. I'll be happy."

The other candidates for the forwards spots on the All-NBA team are LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant.

The Pacers are hoping to sign him to an extension this summer but George would have little financial incentive to commit this offseason.

"I'm worried about making the playoffs," George said. "I'm going to play at the highest I can, the best I can every night. Wherever that lands me, that's where it lands me. I'm fighting for a playoff spot."