Report: Larry Bird no longer has a relationship with GM David Morway

When Larry Bird was retained as President of Basketball Operations for the Pacers, there was an interesting wrinkle. Kevin Pritchard, not longer-tenured David Morway, was tapped for the GM position under Bird. It was thought that was because Morway, having interviewed for vacant positions around the league, was simply headed elsewhere. Turns out that’s true, but not because Morway’s going to get another offer (though he may). The Indianapolis Star’s Mike Wells reports:

Bird no longer has a relationship with soon-to-be ousted general manager David Morway, according to multiple sources.

Sources say the fizzled relationship is the one of the main reasons why Bird plans to replace Morway with Kevin Pritchard as general manager once Bird agrees to a new deal with owner Herb Simon to remain as president when the two meet later this week.

Pritchard was hired to be the Pacers’ director of player personnel last summer.

It takes awhile to earn Bird’s trust and once you burn that bridge he’s done with people. That’s the case right now with Morway.

via Pacers: A poor relationship is the reason Bird wants to replace Morway | Pacers Insider | The Indianapolis Star | IndyStar.com.

Wells goes on to say that the big clincher for Bird was Morway’s mishandling of the attempted acquisition of O.J. Mayo. That failed debacle where Morway reportedly pushed the Grizzlies too hard to take on Brandon Rush (eventually shipped to Golden State) cost Morway huge points.

Morway has a pretty good shot at multiple openings, most notably the Orlando job, where he’s considered a finalist for the gig. But it’s interesting that Bird lost his confidence in him. It’s also interesting because for a while it seemed that Bird would leave the job, Pritchard would leave the job, and Morway would take over. Now Morway’s the only one on the outside.

Sometimes this happens with people who work together. Not unfair to support either side.