INDIANAPOLIS – Assistant coach Mike Weinar and the Indiana Pacers have “mutually agreed to part ways, effective immediately” the team announced in a press release Friday.
A message sent to Weinar seeking comment was not immediately returned.
The 41-year-old Weinar joined the Pacers as part of Rick Carlisle’s initial staff when he was hired for a second stint as head coach in 2021. He was also part of Carlisle’s staff in Dallas from 2008-21, helping the Mavericks to the 2010-11 NBA championship. Before that, he was a student manager, then graduate assistant at Florida and was part of their national championship teams in 2005-06 and 2006-07.
Earlier this month, Ian Begley of SNYTV reported that Weinar was under consideration to be the top assistant with the Knicks under new coach Mike Brown but removed himself from consideration. Chris Jent was hired away from the Hornets to take the positiondays later.
The Pacers won just 25 games in Weinar and Carlisle’s first season, but then reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2023-24 and the NBA Finals in 2024-25 where they lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in seven games. It was the Pacers’ first Finals trip since 2000 and was the closest they have ever come to earning an NBA title.
Weinar’s position was primarily offense focused. In 2023-24, the Pacers led the NBA in scoring with the sixth-highest scoring average in league history and the highest since the Denver Nuggets in 1983-84.
“Mike Weinar has been a trusted friend and loyal colleague for 17+ years,” Carlisle said in a press release. “As a coach, he is a proven winner with two National Championship rings with Florida Men’s Basketball in 2006 and 2007, and an NBA Championship ring from our 2011 championship run in Dallas. Mike also played a major role in this year’s historic Finals run with the Pacers. Mike’s exemplary character as a father, husband, and man has been evident to me over nearly two decades. Professional success has followed Mike everywhere he has gone, and will no doubt continue to do so in the future.”
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