Which former president of the of the Indiana Pacers organization helped to turn around the Boston Celtics 1979-80 season?
Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American professional basketball executive, former coach and former player, most recently serving as president of the Indiana Pacers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Since retiring as a player for the Boston Celtics, he was a mainstay in the Indiana Pacers organization, but stepped down from the position of president following the first-round of the 2017 Eastern Conference playoffs.
2004–05 Boston Celtics season The 2004–05 NBA season was the 59th season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association. The season is memorable when the team hired Doc Rivers to be their head coach for the upcoming season. During the offseason, the Celtics acquired All-Star guard Gary Payton, and former Celtics forward Rick Fox from the Los Angeles Lakers, but Fox would retire before the season. The Celtics struggled playing under .500 for the first half of the season. At midseason, Payton was traded to the Atlanta Hawks for former Celtic All-Star forward Antoine Walker. However, Payton would never suit up for the Hawks and was released shortly after. He then re-signed with the Celtics afterwards for the remainder of the season. The team went on a 7-game winning streak in March, finishing first place in the Atlantic Division with a 45–37 record. Paul Pierce was selected for the 2005 NBA All-Star Game.