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According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, long-time Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle is leaving the organization.
Rick Carlisle -- who led Dallas to the 2011 NBA championship -- informed Mavericks owner Mark Cuban today that he won't be returning as coach next season, Carlisle told ESPN. Carlisle had two years left on his contract. He spent 13 seasons as Mavericks coach.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 17, 2021
Carlisle also issued the following statement to ESPN: “After a number of in-person conversations with Mark Cuban over the last week, today I informed him that I will not be returning as head coach of the Dallas Mavericks. This was solely my decision. My family and I have had an amazing 12-year experience working with great people in a great city. It has been an honor to work alongside Mark, Cynt, Donnie, Fin, Keith, Dirk, JKidd and every player and assistant coach I’ve had here. Dallas will always be home, but I am excited about the next chapter of my coaching career.”
During his 13 years with the organization, Carlisle led Dallas to a 555-478 record, not including a 28-33 record in the playoffs. The Mavericks won the 2011 NBA title with Carlisle at the helm.
According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, there had been “simmering tension” between Carlisle and Luka Doncic. MacMahon also noted that Doncic is a fan of assistant coach Jamahl Mosley:
Luka Doncic is a strong supporter of Mavs assistant coach Jamahl Mosley. “He’s got the things that are needed for a head coach," Doncic said after Mosely's one-game fill-in for a win over the Knicks this season. "He can be the head coach, for sure.”
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) June 17, 2021
Additionally, MacMahan got a statement from owner Mark Cuban about Rick Carlisle: “I truly love Rick Carlisle. He was not only a good coach but also a friend and a confidant. Our relationship was so much more than basketball. And I know that won’t ever change.”
This is a great deal of news in just four days, starting with Tim Cato’s piece on Monday, then the news that long-time General Manager Donnie Nelson left the organization Wednesday, and now this news about Carlisle today.
There is so much up in the air at the moment that it’s hard to know where to start. The vacancies in both the front office and the head coach raise so many questions. The margin for error with these moves is very small and it’s on owner Mark Cuban to make the right move.
We’ll have more as we learn about the situation.
Here’s our episode of the Mavs Moneyball Podcast discussing the Dallas Mavericks moving on from Donnie Nelson. Here’s the episode about Rick Carlisle moving on. Search Mavs Moneyball Podcast on your favorite app to find the episode, click the link, or press play in the player below.