May 09, 2009 6:17 PM EST

Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird issued the following statement on the passing of Chuck Daly:

"After all the battles the Celtics had against the Pistons I always had the utmost respect for Chuck as a coach and a person. In the '92 Olympics he handled that team and its talent as well as anybody could. He treated us all with respect and had us all vying for the same goal. For me, it was an honor to play for him."

Via RealGM Staff Report