"Rick informed me today about his decision to
step down as head coach," Cuban said. "On top of being a
tremendous basketball coach, he was also a friend and confidant.
Rick helped us bring the O'Brien Trophy to Dallas and those are
memories I will always cherish. I want to thank Rick for all he
gave this franchise and this city. We wish him all the best."
Carlisle added context to the move in a 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," Carlisle said. "This was
solely my decision."
He added, "Dallas will always be home, but I am excited about
the next chapter of my coaching career."
Carlisle had two years remaining on his contract.
Carlisle, 61, compiled a record of 555-478 in 13 seasons as the
Mavs' coach from 2008-21. He coached two seasons with the
Detroit Pistons (2001-03) and four with the Indiana Pacers
(2003-07) and also served as an assistant coach for the then-New
Jersey Nets, Portland Trail Blazers and Indiana. His all-time
win-loss record as a head coach is 836-689.
Dallas lost its first-round Western Conference playoff series to
the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games after taking leads of
2-0 and 3-2 earlier in the series. The Mavericks were the No. 5
seed in the conference after a 42-30 regular-season finish. Star
forward Luka Doncic turned in another stellar season and was
named to his second straight All-NBA first team.
On Wednesday, the Mavericks announced they "mutually agreed to
part ways" with Nelson, who served in that capacity for 24
seasons. ESPN and The Athletic reported that Nelson was rankled
by the ever-growing influence of the team's director of
quantitative research and development, Haralabos "Bob" Voulgaris.
Doncic is eligible for a max contract extension this offseason
and described the Nelson move as "tough."
--Field Level Media
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