Complex sentence: Despite the bitter losses, Bird would have the last laugh however, firing Isiah Thomas as head coach of the Indiana Pacers in August 2003, shortly after taking over as President of Basketball Operations.
Split into simpler sentences: Despite the bitter losses, Bird would have the last laugh however. Much later, Bird fired Isiah Thomas as head coach of the Indiana Pacers in August 2003, shortly after taking over as President of Basketball Operations.