Vogel on Larry Bird: 'He's different and you still love him'

In the wake of Frank Vogel's dismissal by the Indiana Pacers in May, team president and NBA legend Larry Bird was hit with some significant blowback. Many felt the move was harsh, but Vogel isn't one to hold a grudge.

The new Orlando Magic coach even had lunch with Bird on Monday.

"Larry's going to say what's on his mind and he's different," Vogel told the Indianapolis Star's Nate Taylor. "He's a different guy. If you know Larry, you know that he's different and you still love him."

Vogel told Taylor that he knew Bird's decision to remove him was made after the Pacers' seven-game first-round playoff loss to the Toronto Raptors. In Game 5 of that series, questionable substitution patterns by Vogel in the second and fourth quarters helped cost Indiana the contest. The coach reiterated, however, that he didn't plead with Bird to keep his job, as he has said many have misstated.

"It was halfhearted in a joking fashion; that's all it was," Vogel said of his conversation with Bird before the news conference that relieved him of his duties on May 5. "I had a lot of belief in what I could do with that team with (Paul George's) injury behind him."