Pacers say outgoing CEO Walsh has no deal to join Knicks

Walsh mentioned the possibility of retirement several times last season, when the Pacers went 35-47 and missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade.

"I really don't think this should come as a surprise," he said. "I said this would be my last year, and now I'm completing what has been my dream job."

Walsh, who joined the Pacers as an assistant coach in 1984, became general manager in 1986 and president two years later. He hired Bird as coach in 1997, and after Bird moved into the front office in 2003 three years later, Walsh groomed him as his eventual successor.

"My real reason is, I think I've been here too long," Walsh said. "It's not healthy for the franchise. "I started thinking that the last two or three years. But you also want to see things get better."

As president of basketball operations, Bird has shared many of the day-to-day operations with Walsh in recent years, a division of authority that has often led to confusion in dealing with other teams, Walsh said.

"Now it's one voice; it's mine," Bird said. "Pressure is pressure. I've dealt with it in the past, and I'm looking forward to it."

The Pacers reached the Eastern Conference finals six times and won the Central Division four times under Walsh. They made the NBA Finals in 2000, when they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers, and had the league's best record in 2004 before the franchise began unraveling.

"It was a joy to spend time in Indiana under his leadership. Great man and a great basketball mind," said Mark Jackson, who played on the Pacers' finals team. "Sad to see, being a member of the Pacers and knowing what he means to that organization and that community, but at the same time I wish him nothing but the very best because like I said, he's a great man and a great basketball mind. He's the best in the business."

Starting with the brawl involving Indiana players and Detroit Pistons fans, the past three seasons have been marked by losses, personnel changes and off-court issues.

Former Pacer Stephen Jackson pleaded guilty to criminal recklessness for firing gunshots in the air during a 2006 fight at a strip club. This year, Pacers guard Jamaal Tinsley and several companions were targeted in a shooting that wounded the team's equipment manager outside a downtown hotel. And Tinsley and Marquis Daniels recently cut a deal with prosecutors to avoid trial on charges in a separate fight at a nightclub.

Recently, a murder suspect was arrested after he had been at the home of Pacers forward Shawne Williams and a rape was reported at Daniels' home. Neither player was charged and police said Daniels was not a suspect in the rape.

This season, Indiana has the NBA's worst attendance, and despite a four-game winning streak the Pacers (29-41) are still 1½ games behind Atlanta for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.