Harrington Bashes Carlisle's System

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">For the second time in as many seasons, the Indiana Pacers traded a player who took exception to Rick Carlisle's coaching philosophy.

Forward Al Harrington, dealt Wednesday to Golden State in an eight-player shake-up, shared former Pacers forward Ron Artest's sentiment in saying he didn't feel comfortable playing in Carlisle's regimented system.

"I would say we didn't see eye to eye," Harrington said as he walked to his car at Conseco Fieldhouse on Wednesday. "It was a real slow-down offense. He's one of those guys that's very precise and wants things done a certain way, and playing that way is hard for everybody to get opportunities. At the same time, it's a system that has worked for him in the past."

Harrington's departure comes just 38 games after his celebrated return.
The Pacers moved to regain Harrington in early July, hours after Peja Stojakovic agreed to sign with the New Orleans Hornets. Harrington spent his first six seasons with the Pacers, who brought him back in a sign-and-trade deal from Atlanta on Aug. 23, 2006.

Harrington was supposed to team with close friend Jermaine O'Neal to give the Pacers a high-scoring duo.

Harrington had two 30-point games early, but started to struggle when he was shifted to small forward in late November. Pacers officials didn't feel Harrington and O'Neal complemented each other in the frontcourt. Harrington averaged 15.9 points and 6.3 rebounds.

"That's the heartbreak in it," CEO Donnie Walsh said. "I drafted Al some time ago. I loved him as a guy. He would've fit in here, but he was playing (small forward) more than he was playing (power forward). I'm not sure he's a good fit at (power forward) with Jermaine. When you really looked at it, I don't know if the two players complemented one another as much as we thought they could."

Harrington said he thought the Pacers were going to be more of an up-tempo team. He criticized Carlisle's system two weeks ago and reiterated that comment Wednesday. He said he didn't mean any harm when he said Jan. 6 he was going to play aggressively like Artest, but his comments caught Carlisle by surprise.

Carlisle called Harrington in for a meeting two days later.
"On our team, Al played the second-most minutes and took the second-most shots to Jermaine O'Neal," Carlisle said Wednesday night. "Unfortunately, our fast-break points dropped 23 percent after we moved him from center to small forward, which is where he wanted to play. I wish Al only the best with Golden State."</div>

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