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As I’m sure you are well aware, some news has hit the Dallas Mavericks over the past week, and then there was some more news, and then some additional news. The Athletic piece penned by Tim Cato and Sam Amick seems to have lit a fire that does not want to burn out.
Amick, your friendly neighborhood front office exploder, phoned in to The Rich Eisen Show (linked below) on Friday to discuss his reporting, and shine a little light on Rick Carlisle’s exit from the team.
Amick goes into Carlisle occasionally being at loggerheads with Mavericks’ superstar Luka Doncic, but compliments the coach’s adaptability in working with a player who would best him in any “personal battle”. But Amick does acknowledge that issues remained between the two, even after Carlisle essentially handed Doncic the keys.
With Donnie Nelson out, Carlisle lost one of his guys in the front office, leaving him to consider a future where he may have to work hand in hand with “shadow GM” Bob Voulgaris. It sounds like the relationship between Voulgaris and Carlisle had already gotten a little ridiculous by NBA standards. Amick reports that Voulgaris was behind the decision to start Boban Marjanovic in the Playoffs, in what sounds like a ‘you better start Boban or else’ type of situation. Rick Carlisle is not the type of coach who is going to put up with that shit.
What kind of a head coach is going to want to work for an organization that handles its business this way? And what kind of General Manager is going to want to take a job where they may or may not actually have any power? Do we need a Gersson Rosas round two? Amick goes on to state that he has never reported on a subject where so many of the people he spoke to just straight up did not like the guy. Never!
The Mavericks’ house remains on fire and tossing out Dirk as a special advisor is not going to put out the flames. We’re looking at a summer filled with the most important personnel decisions of Mark Cuban’s career. The first step should be getting rid of Bob Voulgaris.