Indiana Pacers head coach Isiah Thomas, Now Saginaw Soul of the Basketball Super League (BSL), sent a stunning message to Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle concerning….see moreHere’s a draft article based on your headline. Let me know if you’d like variations in tone, length, or outlet style (e.g., ESPN, Bleacher Report, etc.).
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**BREAKING NEWS: Former Indiana Pacers Coach Isiah Thomas, Now Leading BSL’s Saginaw Soul, Sends Stunning Message to Rick Carlisle**
**July 23, 2025 | Indianapolis, IN —** In a stunning twist that has the basketball world buzzing, former Indiana Pacers head coach and NBA legend **Isiah Thomas**, now head coach of the upstart **Saginaw Soul** in the **Basketball Super League (BSL)**, has issued a direct and unexpected message to current Pacers head coach **Rick Carlisle**.
The message, shared during a post-practice media scrum this afternoon, was pointed and surprisingly candid:
> “I still bleed Pacers blue and gold, but let’s be real—Indiana deserves more than early playoff exits,” Thomas said. “Rick’s a great coach, but if the culture doesn’t change, you’re just recycling disappointment. I built something in Indy before, and I’m building something even stronger in Saginaw now. Maybe the Pacers should be watching what we’re doing here.”
Thomas coached the Pacers from 2000 to 2003, guiding a young roster into playoff contention. Though his tenure ended before the team’s Eastern Conference Finals run in 2004, his influence on players like Jermaine O’Neal and Al Harrington remains part of Indiana’s basketball lore.
Now helming the **Saginaw Soul**, one of the breakout franchises of the newly established Basketball Super League, Thomas is once again gaining national attention—not just for his team’s gritty style of play and early-season dominance, but for his increasingly vocal critiques of the NBA system he once thrived in.
The Soul are currently 8–1 in BSL play, led by former G-League stars and international standouts, and have drawn comparisons to early-2000s Pistons teams in both style and swagger—two words that now also describe Thomas’s tone toward his former franchise.
Carlisle, who has coached the Pacers since 2021 and is widely respected around the league, has not responded publicly to Thomas’s comments. Sources within the Pacers organization say they were “surprised and disappointed” by the remarks, but acknowledge Thomas’s deep ties to the franchise.
NBA analysts are already speculating on the motives behind Thomas’s comments. Some see it as a promotional move for the BSL and his Saginaw squad, while others believe Thomas may be subtly angling for a return to the NBA—possibly even to Indiana if the opportunity ever arose.
For now, Thomas and the Saginaw Soul continue their BSL campaign with growing fanfare, while Carlisle and the Pacers prepare for another make-or-break season in the competitive Eastern Conference.
Whether this was just a passionate statement or something more strategic remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: **Isiah Thomas is back in the conversation—and he’s not pulling any punches.**
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Would you like me to expand this into multiple versions (e.g., one from the BSL’s perspecti
Here’s a draft article based on your headline. Let me know if you’d like variations in tone, length, or outlet style (e.g., ESPN, Bleacher Report, etc.).
—
**BREAKING NEWS: Former Indiana Pacers Coach Isiah Thomas, Now Leading BSL’s Saginaw Soul, Sends Stunning Message to Rick Carlisle**
**July 23, 2025 | Indianapolis, IN —** In a stunning twist that has the basketball world buzzing, former Indiana Pacers head coach and NBA legend **Isiah Thomas**, now head coach of the upstart **Saginaw Soul** in the **Basketball Super League (BSL)**, has issued a direct and unexpected message to current Pacers head coach **Rick Carlisle**.
The message, shared during a post-practice media scrum this afternoon, was pointed and surprisingly candid:
> “I still bleed Pacers blue and gold, but let’s be real—Indiana deserves more than early playoff exits,” Thomas said. “Rick’s a great coach, but if the culture doesn’t change, you’re just recycling disappointment. I built something in Indy before, and I’m building something even stronger in Saginaw now. Maybe the Pacers should be watching what we’re doing here.”
Thomas coached the Pacers from 2000 to 2003, guiding a young roster into playoff contention. Though his tenure ended before the team’s Eastern Conference Finals run in 2004, his influence on players like Jermaine O’Neal and Al Harrington remains part of Indiana’s basketball lore.
Now helming the **Saginaw Soul**, one of the breakout franchises of the newly established Basketball Super League, Thomas is once again gaining national attention—not just for his team’s gritty style of play and early-season dominance, but for his increasingly vocal critiques of the NBA system he once thrived in.
The Soul are currently 8–1 in BSL play, led by former G-League stars and international standouts, and have drawn comparisons to early-2000s Pistons teams in both style and swagger—two words that now also describe Thomas’s tone toward his former franchise.
Carlisle, who has coached the Pacers since 2021 and is widely respected around the league, has not responded publicly to Thomas’s comments. Sources within the Pacers organization say they were “surprised and disappointed” by the remarks, but acknowledge Thomas’s deep ties to the franchise.
NBA analysts are already speculating on the motives behind Thomas’s comments. Some see it as a promotional move for the BSL and his Saginaw squad, while others believe Thomas may be subtly angling for a return to the NBA—possibly even to Indiana if the opportunity ever arose.
For now, Thomas and the Saginaw Soul continue their BSL campaign with growing fanfare, while Carlisle and the Pacers prepare for another make-or-break season in the competitive Eastern Conference.
Whether this was just a passionate statement or something more strategic remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: **Isiah Thomas is back in the conversation—and he’s not pulling any punches.**
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Would you like me to expand this into multiple versions (e.g., one from the BSL’s perspecti
ve, one from Indiana media)?ve, one from Indiana media)?
