Before the Rockets ran his team out of the playoffs in 2015 at the Toyota Center, Donnie Nelson tried to put a happy face on it, spinning the story away from the Mavs’ pending exit and on down the road. Rick Carlisle wasn’t going anywhere, Donnie told me before Game 5. For emphasis, the general manager referenced a coach who’d lasted more than two decades in Utah.
“We want Rick to be our Jerry Sloan,” Donnie said.
Carlisle lasted 13 seasons with the Mavs, a long time, especially when you haven’t won a round in the playoffs the last 10.
And if it’s still a decade short of Sloan’s tenure, he beat Donnie by four days.
Carlisle apparently quit of his own volition Thursday, partly out of support for his old boss, fired Sunday, and partly because he lost his best advocate with the owner and superstar. He also got out in time for a potential vacancy in Milwaukee, where, if all goes right, he could end up coaching Giannis Antetokounmpo after all.
Maybe it would go better with the Greek Freak than it did here with another Euro superstar. ESPN reports Thursday suggested “simmering tension” between Carlisle and Luka Doncic before the coach’s exit. Remember the loss in January to the Bucks when Luka threw his hands in the air, wanting to know why Carlisle didn’t call a timeout inside a minute left? Pretty much the definition of “simmering tension.”
Maybe this is, too: In Carlisle’s statement to ESPN, he thanked everyone for the ride, including “every player and assistant coach I’ve had here.” But the only players he named specifically were Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd.
Not Luka.
Of course Dirk gets a shout-out. Hall of Fame player and person. Kidd? He helped Carlisle to his only NBA title as a coach.
Luka mostly just ratcheted up expectations beyond what probably made Carlisle comfortable given what he had to work with otherwise.
Not that Mark Cuban would have followed up his dismissal of his general manager by kicking his coach to the curb, too. Cuban isn’t cleaning house. By all accounts, Carlisle could have come back. He’s got two years left on his contract.
Also in his favor: He never tells Cuban to stay out of his business like Don Nelson and Avery Johnson did.
Just the same, what do I know? Still incomprehensible that Cuban fired Donnie in the first place. The former GM was always a company man, evidenced even now by the fact that he’s yet to utter a word about his dismissal. He must have really been worked up about the organizational rise of Bob Voulgaris, the professional poker player in charge of R&D.
Multiple reports indicate Luka’s just as unhappy about Voulgaris’ new stature. He certainly wasn’t pleased to see Donnie go, telling the media in Slovenia “it was tough for me.” Donnie not only drafted him, he’s known him since Luka was barely a teenager. Luka likes Donnie, which is not to be underrated.
If Luka doesn’t like Carlisle as much, well, Uncle Ricky has lasted 19 seasons as a head coach mostly because of his smarts, not his bedside manner.
He’s not done, either, judging by something else he said in his ESPN briefing.
“Dallas will be home,” he said, “but I am excited about the next chapter of my coaching career.”
His excitement level might have something to do with conversations lately around the Bucks, from what I hear.
Meanwhile, the temperature in the Mavs’ offices has risen right along with the thermometer on your back porch. The owner should be feeling the heat.
Cuban has always liked to appear as if he’s leading the parade on any new trends or technology. In most cases he benefits. But hiring a guy whose signature achievement was making a few million betting on NBA games, then giving him the kind of authority that ultimately drove a wedge between himself and a loyal GM was simply foolish.
Now, as a result of Cuban’s bet on a poker player, Donnie’s gone, Carlisle’s gone . . .
And Luka?
He may yet sign the five-year, $200 million rookie max extension that he earned by making first-team All-NBA two years in a row. But, if I’m Cuban, I wouldn’t necessarily bet that Luka will still be here five years from now. Players can force their way out of any situation if they’re unhappy enough.
Even if Cuban hires a coach who can figure out what to do with Kristaps Porzingis while keeping Luka happy, I’m betting the superstar doesn’t forget what happened to his old buddy. The new hires, whoever they are, should keep it in mind. If the end comes for Luka, too, he should tell them it’s not personal, because those days are gone. Now it’s just business.
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