INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Pacers head coach Nate McMillan announced his coaching staff for the 2016-17 National Basketball Association season on Monday.
Returning to the bench will be assistant coaches Dan Burke and Popeye Jones. Joining them will be veteran NBA assistant Bill Bayno. David McClure joins the staff as player development coach.
"This staff has great versatility in its basketball knowledge in how they teach it and how they coach it," said McMillan, who was named Pacers' head coach in May. "Dan has been a stable coaching influence for many years here and is highly regarded as one of the best coaches in the league. Popeye is a former player who has taken a true love to coaching, especially when working with our big men. I worked with Bill in Portland, was impressed with him then and always hoped I would have a chance to work with him again. And David is one of the bright, young coaching prospects in our league who has played professionally with a great feel for development."
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Burke will be entering his 28th year in professional basketball and 20th with the Pacers. He has been a significant contributor to the Pacers being one of the top defensive teams in the NBA in recent years. This will be Jones' fourth season with the Pacers where he has worked with team centers and forwards, along with game/opponent preparation.
Bayno, 54, has vast head and assistant coaching experience. He has been a head coach in college, at UNLV and Loyola Marymount, and professionally in the Philippines and two minor leagues, the ABA and CBA. He has assisted at Seton Hall, Kansas, Baptist College and UMass collegiately and with Portland, Minnesota and Toronto in the NBA.
The 30-year-old McClure played collegiately at Duke from 2005-09. He played professionally in the D-League for one season and four years in Lithuania. He has spent the last two seasons with the San Antonio Spurs in player development.