Larry Bird retained by Pacers to continue his rebuilding plan

Larry Bird will stay on as team president of the Indiana Pacers and will have the chance to continue his vision to make the team league contenders once again.

The announcement to retain Larry Bird was made after the NBA legend met with Pacers owner Herb Simon in Los Angeles. David Morway will also hold on to his position as team general manager.

"I'm quite pleased with the success we experienced this past season and pleased with the direction our team is going," the real estate tycoon and team owner Herb Simon said in a statement. "I'm glad Larry is staying to help us continue in the positive direction we are going."

Larry Bird was hired by the Pacers as team president of basketball operations in 2003 to lead a rebuilding project and bring the franchise back to its glory days as a perennial playoff team.

He orchestrated the drafting of top prospects and acquired promising players via trade. The moves paid off this season as the Pacers secured its first playoff spot since the 2005-2006 season.

This happened despite a midseason coaching change that involved Jim O'Brien getting fired by Larry Bird after a 17-27 start and Frank Vogel being named interim coach and leading the team to a 20-18 finish the rest of the way.

The Pacers has one of the youngest rosters in the NBA. Former All-Star Danny Granger is 28 years old while fellow starters Roy Hibbert, Tyler Hansbrough, Paul George and Darren Collison are all younger than 26.

Larry Bird wants to further develop the team's core of young players and will soon decide whether or not to retain Frank Vogel as head coach for next season.