Mavericks

Rick Carlisle Steps Down As Mavericks Coach

June 17, 2021

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle is stepping down after 13 seasons with the team, he told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Mavs become the seventh team this offseason with a coaching vacancy, joining the Pelicans, Pacers, Celtics, Trail Blazers, Magic and Wizards.

Carlisle was Dallas’ coach during the championship run of 2011 and compiled a 555-478 record with the Mavs overall. He previously coached the Pistons and Pacers.

“I truly love Rick Carlisle. He was not only a good coach but also a friend and a confidant,” Mavs owner Mark Cuban told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “Our relationship was so much more than basketball. And I know that won’t ever change.”

The move comes one day after the Mavs parted ways with longtime GM Donnie Nelson, who spent 24 years with the franchise.

Mavs star Luka Doncic has consistently expressed gratitude to Nelson for trading for him in the 2018 NBA Draft. Doncic, 22, was initially drafted third overall by the Hawks, but immediately sent to the Mavs for No. 5 overall pick Trae Young.

Doncic is currently practicing with the Slovenian national team ahead of the Olympic qualifying tournament at the end of the month in Lithuania. He told reporters from practice that it was tough to hear about the news of Nelson’s departure.

“But I’m not the one making decisions,” he said.