On Thursday, Rick Carlisle announced he would be stepping down as head coach of the Mavericks. Things continue to shake up with the Mavericks as Rick Carlisle would not be returning to coach the Mavericks next season. The Mavericks would now begin their search for a new head coach to help lead the team.
Carlisle, who owns 19 years of NBA experience as a head coach, just completed his 13th season with the Mavericks franchise.
During his tenure as head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, he led them to the playoffs in 9 of the last 13 seasons. He guided them to the Mavericks only championship in franchise history during the 2010-2011 season, by going 16-5 in the postseason. Carlisle, who won a title as a player with the Boston Celtics in 1986, is one of only 14 individuals to win a championship both as a player and as a head coach. He became the winningest coach in franchise history on November 1st, 2015 after securing a 103-93 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers for his 340th victory with the Mavericks. He moved into 15th place on the NBA all-time coaching wins during the 2020-2021 season by securing his career win 833 on May 7th, 2021. Carlisle became the 9th head coach in Mavericks franchise history on May 9th, 2008 and led the Mavericks to the postseason in seven of his first eight seasons with the team.
This does not goes as a “firing” because owner, Mark Cuban, didn’t fire him or told him “you’re gone”, this is really and truly a “step down” because Rick Carlisle made this decision upon himself and his family. This all comes after news that has been reported by “The Athletic” reporter Tim Cato, who recently published an article saying that there’s tension in the Mavericks’ front office. Mark Cuban quickly tried to dismiss the rumor by calling Cato’s article, “Total BullSh**”, but was unsuccessful as he recently decided to part ways with long time General Manager, Donnie Nelson, which proves that there’s actual tension going on in the front office.
I cannot tell you how much Rick Carlisle means to the city of Dallas because there’s aren’t enough words to describe. Some people are probably happy that he “step down” because of lack of success in the last couple of seasons and failure to advance past the first round of the playoffs in the Luka Dončić era. The Mavericks, under Carlisle, couldn’t win a single playoff series since they won the championship in 2011 and that was quickly adding up to the frustration among MFFL’S (Mavs Fan For Life). Of course, during times the Mavericks reached the playoffs, the team wasn’t simply built “all the way through” and Carlisle just had to do with what he was given. You look at the roster in which the Mavericks made the playoffs, under Carlisle, since they won the championship in 2011 and see the players that Carlisle had. Carlisle did everything he could to try and advance to the next round in the playoffs but the roster wasn’t built that way and there was little talent on roster to do so. Now, with the Mavericks having the next franchise player in Luka Doncic, the tension grew more and more each time the Mavericks failed to their expectations. Apparently, this season was the last straw for Carlisle, with the Mavericks again coming up short in the playoffs and again failing to advance past the first round as that was enough to “step down” as the head coach of the Mavericks.
Rick Carlisle leaves the Mavericks with a 555-478 (.537%) coaching record. Upon him stepping down, he was the third-longest tenured head coach in the NBA behind only Greg Popovich and Erik Spoelstra.
There was reported tension between Luka Dončić and Rick Carlisle as there would some games where you could see Doncic making animated gestures on the court when he disagreed with a decision or yelling at Carlisle in front of the assistant coaches on the bench during timeouts.
Now it’s being reported that Luka Dončić is favoring longtime Mavericks assistant coach, Jamahl Mosley, to be the one who replaces Carlisle as the next head coach of the Mavericks. Doncic has a longtime relationship with Mosley and we will see how the Mavericks approach this. Mosley has been picking up steam as he been rumored in a lot of teams to be their next coach by earning interviews, with those who are looking for a head coach.
The Mavericks have been cleaning house at the top or it seems like they are, as they now need a new General Manager and a new head coach for the first time in a long time in the history of the franchise. Will they stay inside the organization to fill those positions, who knows, but this is by far the craziest offseason the Mavericks have had in a long time. We will see in what direction the Mavericks decide to go as there is one general manager out there that just sort of happens to have his contract expired at the right time, he’s up north and is one of the best in the league, maybe the Mavericks throw him money to come down and help build the roster around Luka Dončić. As far as possible coaching candidates, there aren’t many out there, maybe because the playoffs haven’t officially ended yet but it would be interesting to see who the Mavericks give interviews for the head coaching job. The Mavericks have to be up there as far as the most appealing team that’s looking for a new coach. The next coach will get to coach one of the bright young superstars in the league and will have plenty of cash to spend in free agency, with the Mavericks having a good amount of cap space.
Whether you’re happy that Rick Carlisle is gone or sad, he made the decision himself as he decided that it was apparently time to part ways with years left on his contract. For the first time since the 2008-2009 season, we will see somebody new as the head coach of the Mavericks. Carlisle deserves our utmost Thank You because without him as the head coach, the Mavericks would still be seeking their first championship. We will certainly miss him on the sidelines guiding us through the season. “All good things must come to an end”, as the famous saying goes, the Mavericks now have to move on and take the next step in the franchise. We hope that whoever is coming to be the next coach of the Mavericks, that the best year’s are ahead and hope to be competing for championships.
Thank You Rick Carlisle for everything you have given towards this franchise, we will miss you and we wish you nothing but the best in the next chapter!
Follow me on Twitter @TheIsiahNunez for more updates on the Dallas Mavericks offseason.