Full-Court Press

NBA All-Star game in Arlington?

Two NBA sources say that the 2010 NBA All-Star Game could be played at the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

"They are interested in making a bid," one source said. "But it's still in the early stages."

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has been reluctant in the past to bring an All-Star game to Dallas. The NBA is in charge of seating and regular season ticket holders are displaced for the event. Some season ticket holders, in fact, do not even get tickets for the game. Cuban has always been critical of treating his most loyal customers so shabbily.

In an email, Cuban wrote, "That's news to me," referring to any definitive scheduling of the All-Star game in Arlington. "We put out inquiries to all the major stadiums in the area. I just wanted to find a place that could hold our season ticketholders and visitors for an All-Star game. But nothing really has gone past that at this point."

At the new stadium, however, the seating capacity would be much larger so season ticket holders could be accommodated and the NBA's ticket demands could also be satisfied.

If the game were held at the new stadium, other events -- such as the All-Star Saturday night, which features the slam dunk contest and the three-point shooting event -- could be held at American Airlines Center.

Since the city of Arlington voted in favor of building the stadium, mega-events such as the NBA All-Star game and the NCAA Final Four men's basketball championships figured to be headed to North Texas.

-- Jan Hubbard and Jeff Caplan

Carlisle finally introduced

After a lengthy, negotiating process, Rick Carlisle was finally introduced as the Dallas Mavericks' ninth head coach Wednesday at American Airlines Center.
Much of the talk about Carlisle's hiring centered around how he would fit with Jason Kidd, but he sounded excited about the chance to coach the perennial All-Star.
"I see Jason [Kidd] as a guy who can run a team...He's one of the real winners in the history of the game," Carlisle said.

Signed, sealed and delivered...

And now it is official. Rick Carlisle has signed the contract and his now the new head coach of the Dallas Mavericks.

The deal is for four years and $17.5 million, slightly more than $4 million a season and slightly more than former coach Avery Johnson was making.

The press conference to introduce Carlisle to the media and the masses is Wednesday.

-- Jeff Caplan

Source: Deal is done for Carlisle

After days of wrangling over contract details, the Dallas Mavericks reached a verbal agreement with Rick Carlisle on Friday night to become the club’s new head coach, a source confirmed.

The source said the four-year contract is worth more than $4 million a season — slightly more than former coach Avery Johnson’s per-season salary — and would be signed by late Friday or today. A news conference to formally introduce Carlisle as the franchise’s ninth head coach probably won’t be held until Wednesday, the source said, because of Carlisle’s duties as an analyst for ESPN.

Another day passes with no Carlisle signing

Donnie Nelson, the Dallas Mavericks' president of basketball operations, isn't worried, but he does seem to be growing weary of a protracted negotiation process with Rick Carlisle, the Mavs' top choice to take over as head coach, and his agent Warren LeGarie.

Not only did a press conference to introduce Carlisle as the franchise's ninth head coach not happen on Friday as the club had hoped, an agreement remained elusive.

"All I can say is lawyers happen," a fatigued-sounding Nelson said Friday evening. "You can dispute every detail if you want."

LeGarie is apparently taking his time and addressing different points within the contract before Carlisle signs it. The deal is believed to be for four years. LeGarie, who is also busy dealing with another client, the in-demand Mike D'Antoni, did not return phone messages Friday.

On Wednesday, both sides seemed confident that a deal was nearing completion. The Mavs believed they'd be able to cease negotiations on Thursday and introduce Carlisle on Friday. That introduction will be put off until next week so the deal can be completed -- if it's completed.

Asked if he's still confident that Carlisle will be the next coach of the Mavericks, Nelson paused for several seconds and then said: "I'm not confident of anything at this point. You just have to be patient."

At this point it's difficult to discern how close, or how far apart, the two sides are.

Carlisle, 281-211 in two seasons with Detroit and four with Indiana, remains the only known candidate to have interviewed for the position. LeGarie said Wednesday that Carlisle is not interested in seeing what other opportunities might arise elsewhere, saying that Carlisle believes he found a fit with the Mavs.

-- Jeff Caplan

Cavs coach endorses Carlisle

Cavaliers coach Mike Brown endorsed Rick Carlisle Thursday as a good fit for the Dallas Mavericks, saying, "He's a very good coach," and "his track record speaks for itself." Brown worked under Carlisle at Indiana and Brown praised his former boss' work during the 2005 season when the brawl at Detroit unraveled that team, yet the Pacers still managed to get into the playoffs and beat Boston in the first round.

-- Jeff Caplan

Carlisle update: still waiting

At lunchtime, still nothing to report on the Rick Carlisle situation. The Mavericks are still expected to get this deal done at some point, possibly today, although no press conference will be held today even if he does sign.

A press conference would be moved back, perhaps to Saturday or maybe more likely to Monday.

And, oh yeah, another possibly delay: Carlisle's agent, Warren LeGarie, is also the agent for Mike D'Antoni, who's a little busy at the moment.

-- Jeff Caplan

Nelson: No deal today

Rick Carlisle is not the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, at least not yet. Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson just confirmed that no deal was struck today.

Nelson, writing in a text message, did not elaborate as to why the deal did not get finished today, meaning that as of now, no press conference to introduce Carlisle as the franchise's ninth head coach is expected to be held Friday. When asked if the contract process remains on track to finish by Friday, Nelson did not immediately respond.

Although negotiations have seemed to drag, both sides have always reported steady and positive progress being made as the days have passed.

The delay could be due to the travel situation of Carlisle's agent Warren LeGarie, who was traveling from Greece Thursday and returning home to San Francisco. He said he received the contract from the Mavs at midnight yesterday (4 p.m. CDT Wednesday) and was about to give it a close read.

So there might have been some details LeGarie and Carlisle were not able to hash out today. LeGarie did indicate on Wednesday that because of the late hour in which he received the contract the deal might not get completed as soon as both sides had hoped.

"We're still moving forward," LeGarie said Wednesday. "It may be delayed by a day, but we're still moving forward."

Carlisle remains the only known candidate to have interviewed with Nelson and owner Mark Cuban. The former Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers coach accumulated a 281-211 record in six seasons with the two clubs. He is known as a demanding coach and a micromanager, but a strong X's and O's coach whose teams play hard-nosed defense.

His offensive resume is not as strong as his defensive and if he does become the Mavs' next head coach he will have to show that he can loosen up his offensive control and allow point guard Jason Kidd to play his up-tempo style. In Avery Johnson's rigid offensive system, Kidd did not excel.

-- Jeff Caplan

What's up with Carlisle?

Latest word now is that the deal might not get done today (Thursday) which might push any official introduction back a day to Saturday. The team had planned to hold a press conference on Friday if both sides sign off on the deal today. As of right now, that's still up in the air. Carlisle's still the man, it's just taking a bit longer.

One delay might be that Carlisle's agent Warren LeGarie has been working overseas and was scheduled to return to San Francisco from Greece today. In Greece last night, he received the contract from the Mavs at midnight (4 p.m. CDT Wednesday). He was going to give it a thorough reading then, so there might be some details he and Carlisle need to talk over.

Mavs officials have not returned calls since Tuesday and LeGarie has been unreachable so far today. More details to come later.

-- Jeff Caplan

Dirk makes All-NBA second team

Straight from the Mavs:

Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki was named All-NBA Second Team, the NBA announced today. It is the eighth consecutive season Nowitzki has been named All-NBA and the third time he has garnered Second Team honors (2001-02, 2002-03).

“It is always an honor to make the All-NBA Team,” Nowitzki said. “And to be recognized along with so many talented players means a lot to me.”

Nowitzki averaged a team-high 23.6 points (ranked 7th in the NBA), a team-high 8.6 rebounds, a career-high 3.5 assists and 36.0 minutes in 77 starts. He shot 47.9% from the field, 35.9% from 3-point range and 87.9% from the free throw line (10th in NBA). Nowitzki finished the season with 20 games of 30+ points and 25 double-doubles.

In five postseason games, Nowitzki averaged a double-double of 26.8 points and 12.0 rebounds (both team highs) to go with 4.0 assists and 1.4 blocks in 42.2 minutes per game.

Nowitzki remains the only Mavericks player in franchise history to be named All-NBA First Team (2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07) and is one of only three players (Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan) to be named to an All-NBA Team in each of the past eight seasons.

Nowitzki is joined on the Second Team by Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs), Amaré Stoudemire (Phoenix Suns), Steve Nash (Phoenix Suns) and Deron Williams (Utah Jazz).