Full-Court Press

Carlisle expected to be announced on Friday

The Dallas Mavericks plan to announce Rick Carlisle as the franchise's ninth head coach at a press conference Friday as long as the two sides sign off on the completed contract as expected.

Carlisle's agent, Warren LeGarie, is working in Greece and said he had just received the contract from the Mavs at midnight, 4 p.m. CST Wednesday, and was just getting ready to give it a thorough reading. The contract is expected to be for four years. Financial terms are not known at this time.

"We're still moving forward," LeGarie said.

Carlisle, the former coach of the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers, has been the Mavs' man since Avery Johnson was fired a week ago. Carlisle, 48, is the only candidate known to have interviewed and is the only coach on the market with head coaching experience -- not counting Mike D'Antoni who still works for the Phoenix Suns but appears headed to the Eastern Conference. Jeff Van Gundy took his name out of the running early on, stating that he's not interested in jumping back in next season.

The Mavs wanted a head coach with a sound defensive structure and a creative offensive mind. Carlisle definitely brings the former, but the latter will have to be judged by how he opens things up for poing guard Jason Kidd to excel with Dirk Nowitzki and the rest of the cast.

Carlisle, 281-211 over his career and 30-32 in the playoffs, is considered a demanding, hard-driving coach who can be a micromanager and has something of a history of wearing thin on his players. However, he has had extremely strong beginnings with both of his previous clubs.

A native of Ogdensburg, N.Y., Carlisle played collegiately at Maine and then Virginia, where he spent his first season with Ralph Sampson. Drafted by the Celtics in the third round in 1984, Carlisle won a title in Beantown in 1985-86. The 6-foot-5 guard spent five seasons in the NBA, three with Boston, one with New York and one with New Jersey.

Carlisle will inherit a Mavs team that returns just eight players under contract, including Nowitzki, Kidd, Josh Howard, Jason Terry, Erick Dampier, Jerry Stackhouse, Brandon Bass and Eddie Jones, so plenty of holes remain to be filled and with no financial flexibility to make a big splash.

The Mavs have appeared in eight straight playoffs, but are coming off consecutive first-round losses and have lost three straight playoff series going back to the 2005-06 NBA Finals. Owner Mark Cuban removed Johnson as head coach last Wednesday after three-plus seasons. Johnson left saying the team had stopped listening to him, a similar situation Carlisle found himself in when he left Indiana after the 2006-07 season.

Johnson's coaching staff remains under contract for next season. Carlisle could bring in his own staff or choose to keep any of Johnson's assistants -- Paul Westphal, Joe Prunty and Mario Elie.

-- Jeff Caplan

It's always good to hear from the owner

Mark Cuban has posted his summary of the season, his outlook for the future, and his thoughts on the Jason Kidd trade on his blog. It's certainly worth reading.

As far as his feelings on Kidd, he wrote:

"Do I think we might the right deal, you never know till you know, but I know I would make the same deal again. i also know what I learned from Nash leaving. As great an offensive coach as Nellie is, Nash wasn't playing at MVP levels with us. A change of scenery and coaches and system, some payback motivation and he became a very, very deserving 2 time MVP.

"My hope, is that with the changes that have taken place with our Mavs, we will see the same effect with JKidd this coming year, and that will lead to another great year and another and a Mavs championship along the way. If it doesn't work, we hopefully have limited our downside."

-- Jan Hubbard

Donnie Nelson offers a Carlisle update

Mavericks president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson took a minute Monday afternoon to update us with the status of the Rick Carlisle situation. Here's what he had to say:

On how the talks are going: "Negotiations take awhile. There's no timetable."

On when the hiring will happen, if at all: "When everyone feels it's right."

On the possibility of any snags: "We're keeping our options open, as they are. But it's going in a good direction."

-- Jeff Caplan

Still talking...

The way I hear it Rick Carlisle and the Mavs are still talking (negotiating). Not sure what the hold up is if Mark Cuban is indeed going to hire Carlisle, presumably because there's no one else to hire with any NBA coaching experience. Well, there's Jeff Van Gundy, but apparently he's not interested, at least not for next season (anyway he's dog-gone good, funny even, as a color analyst).

Maybe Carlisle wants an extra year thrown in for added security or something. I don't know, but indications are that he's still the man -- and the only one interviewed -- and some time here soon it will become official -- unless one of those dreaded snags becomes a gaping hole that can't be reconciled.

As for Avery Johnson, will he coach somewhere next season? Guess that depends on what other firings occur. Chicago and NY don't seem likely at this point with the apparent love affair between the Bulls and Mike D'Antoni, who was granted permission by the Suns to talk to both the Bulls and Knicks. The Knicks haven't moved on Mark Jackson yet; there's a notion that the Knickerbockers might not have a great interest in Avery at this time.

As for Carlisle, the stories you hear go both ways, some say he's a poor communicator and players end up frustrated and agitated. Other stories suggest he's had a raw deal at times, especially having to deal with loose canons like Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson -- on the same team. Remember, Carlisle coached the Pacers during the brawl in Detroit. That pretty much was the beginning of the end for Carlisle at Indiana (heck, he's not so bad himself as a studio analyst).

Donnie Nelson continues to preach that Carlisle has a nice combo of defense and creative offense. Well, the latter part seems up for debate, too. 

-- Jeff Caplan

Closing in on Carlisle?

By all indications it does appear the Mavs will hire Rick Carlisle soon. He's had two interviews, meeting with Donnie Nelson and Mark Cuban, plus one report said he also met with Dirk Nowitzki. Figure if Dirk gives the thumbs-up then everybody's happy.

When will it happen? Not sure. Peter Vecsey of the NY Post reported on Saturday that the two parties had already come to terms. Nelson disputed that, but it does appear that negotiations are underway, if not well underway. This could happen in the next few days, perhaps Monday, although that has not been confirmed.

Cuban apparently doesn't want to wait to see if Flip Saunders exits Detroit -- of course, they're on their way toward a long playoff march -- or Mike D'Antoni leaves Phoenix or if Washington decides to let go Eddie Jordan. If the Mavs wait too long on any of those head coaches, they might lose Carlisle in the process.

-- Jeff Caplan

Carlisle not hired yet

Donnie Nelson just broke his silence with the local media and said that Rick Carlisle has not yet been hired. He has had two interviews and Nelson said they are very impressed with his basketball IQ as well as the man.

Nelson didn't divulge any specifics in terms of a time line or when an offer might be made.

But, at this time, Carlisle, the only interviewee, looks to be on the fast track to taking over the Dallas Mavericks.

-- Jeff Caplan

Vecsey: Carlisle agrees to terms with Mavs

According to venerable NY Post NBA columnist Peter Vecsey, the Mavericks and former Indiana Pacers and Detoit Pistons coach Rick Carlisle have agreed to terms. Mavericks officials have been unreachable since Friday afternoon. President of basketball operations Donnie Nelson has not returned multiple messages and owner Mark Cuban is not returning email messages. Mavericks sources have not been able confirm the story.

Here's Vecsey's report.

At least one report indicated that Nelson had interviewed Carlisle on Thursday, but without Cuban, who was in Chicago on Wednesday watching the Cubs play from a Tribune Co. box. Cuban remains hot after that franchise which the Tribune Co. is hoping to sell by the end of the year.

Cuban didn't take long to replace Avery Johnson if Vecsey is on the money. Donnie Walsh, who recently took over the Knicks' operation had hired Carlisle in Indiana and some thought he and Carlisle might reunite in the Big Apple, although Mark Jackson has been thought of as the leading candidate for the Knicks position. Carlisle had also reportedly interviewed recently with Walsh.

Carlisle, 49, coached the Pistons from 2001-03, going 100-64 in the regular season and 12-15 in the playoffs. He also was named the 2001-02 NBA Coach of the Year.

After Carlisle was fired by Detroit and replaced by Larry Brown after the 2002-03 season, he was hired by Walsh to take over the Pacers, where he compiled 181-147 in four regular seasons and 18-17 in the playoffs.

His best season in Indianapolis was his first. In 2003-04 the Pacers posted a 61-21 record -- the best mark in franchise history -- and reached the Eastern Conference finals.

Carlisle's reputation is that of a solid, demanding head coach with an emphasis on defense. His rigid style has also been known to grate on players. There was some thought that Carlisle might be too similar to Johnson.

The Mavs also had interest in Jeff Van Gundy, but he is reportedly not interested in coaching next season. That didn't leave many options. It's still believed that Phoenix Suns coach Mike D'Antoni won't be sticking around there and that he's high on the Chicago Bulls vacancy. If Detroit's Flip Saunders or Washington's Eddie Jordan, whose Wizards bowed out of the playoffs Friday night, were to lose their jobs, they'd become instant candidates.

Nelson has talked about patience on this search. We'll see. 

-- Jeff Caplan

-- Jeff Caplan

Cuban and the Cubs

I had asked Mark Cuban, seeing how he was in Chicago on Wednesday, the day Avery Johnson got the boot, if he was on Cubs business. No surprise, Cuban ignored that portion of my email.

But, indeed, he was in Chicago on Cubs business. The Tribune Co. still has the team up for sale and Cuban is still interested. Just get him a jacket.

-- Jeff Caplan

The Avery Session

Former Mavericks head coach Avery Johnson spoke with the media Thursday morning for 25 minutes. Here's the transcript.

Opening statement:

First of all, I want to say thank you to all of our players that have played here for me in the last 3 ½ years, four including my assistant stint. All of our players that put on a Maverick uniform, they cooperated, they were coachable and we have a lot of great memories here with our players. I want to thank Mark for taking a shot and a swing on me four years ago as an assistant, to think enough of me to bring me in immediately, he and Nellie, to make me an assistant head coach without any experience. I’ve enjoyed my time here working with Mark. We had a lot of great moments. And we had a lot of fun. I want to thank every coach I had a chance to coach with and work with. All of them, the coaching staff from this year, previous coaching staffs, we had a lot of great memories. My assistant, Leslie Tracy, who’s been here with me and Sarah [Melton, director of media relations] and I could go on and on down the list of a lot of tremendous people I had a chance to work with. That’s what this whole deal is about, relationships.

I also want to thank the fans for their support. We sold out a bunch of games. We had a lot of fun in the AAC. And contrary to some segments, we had a tremendous amount of success here. We can get up every morning and look ourselves in the mirror, every player that played, coach, and also myself. We can look ourselves in the mirror and really be proud of what we took over when we took over this team and the direction we went in. We can feel very proud of what we did, each and every day. Every decision that I had a chance to be a part of, I can really feel good about it. But now, it’s time to move on. There are no hard feelings, there’s no bitterness. I’m a man of integrity and honesty and like I said, I can look at myself in the mirror with every decision I made and feel really proud of it. So again, I want to thank Mark, every player, every coach, everybody I had chance to work with, Donnie. I know it wasn’t a tough…easy deal for Donnie to come visit with me yesterday. And Keith Grant. But it had to be done.

QUESTIONS

YOU SAY A PARTING OF THE WAYS HAD TO BE DONE. WHY?: “I think in terms of what I came from a blueprint of what I knew how an organization should be ran from top to bottom; I knew what type of players should be drafted, free agent signings, how the coach should function. I had a really good blueprint with all my successful years down south [San Antonio]. And we were able to come here and really make some headway. We were able to change the culture and attitude. I had a chance to work under a phenomenal coach in coach Nelson. But as coach Nelson said, he felt he couldn’t take it any further. And a lot of the players we brought were players at that particular time that I recommended and he thought I should have an opportunity to take them forward. He had lost Nash and he couldn’t get over that. So again, we had a chance to change the culture and take it. Now it’s time for somebody else to take it to the next level and somebody else to work with management and players, and that’s OK. It’s just time for somebody else.

At what point did you realize this might be a reality: “This is a results-driven business and we got the results that we wanted in terms of when we made it to the Finals. Now once you make it to the Finals, one of two teams are going to win, but this organization had never made it there before, so that was a pretty good result. Not the ending result of making it there, but that was a pretty good result. And by the way, that was a pretty good team. that team and the team that we had the year before that made it to the semifinals when we lost to Phoenix in the second round, those two teams were really deep, special teams, so we got the result we wanted, the next year when we won 67 games that team significantly, significantly overachieved. We paid the price for it in the playoffs and this year’s team, it was a miracle we made the playoffs. I just think it was time for somebody else to come in, Mark and Donnie felt the same way and that’s why we’re here today.”

DID YOU HAVE EVERYTHING IN PLACE HERE TO GET IT WHERE YOU NEEDED IT TO BE?: “No, not this year. This is a different team. Before we made the trade, we had the best record against the Western Conference and one of the things that I talked to Mark and Donnie about, I said: ‘Hey, I’ve got to get a point guard.’ That’s why I wanted to develop Devin Harris. I said I’ve got to get this boy to a point where he can be a scorer first and pass some. We got him to a point, like I told you guys before, we were knocking on the door with this young man making the All-Star team. He was going to be an 18-and-8 player. I invested a significant amount of time with him and, again, he was injured and a lot of things were happening around the NBA, and like I said, if we can just hold on a little while, we’ve got the best record against the West. I think we were second or third in the Western Conference at that point and we were going to play the Western Conference quite a bit after the All-Star break. The team was changed and we never really got back on track."

LOOKING BACK, SHOULD THE DEVIN HARRIS TRADE NOT HAVE BEEN MADE: “Here’s the thing, that trade that was made, we don’t want to bring Devin’s name in it or Jason Kidd, I’m not going to give you guys something on Jason Kidd or Devin Harris or Mark or Donnie. The deal was made and at the end of the day, we’re here today. We’re not slamming anybody’s name through the mud. Whatever happened, I think my name is on record with the organization as what I wanted to do.

WERE YOU RELUCTANT TO MAKE THE DEAL?: “I’m on record as what my feelings were and it’s over with now. It was something that was tried and it didn’t take us anywhere that was close. We were struggling to make the playoffs, so it didn’t nearly bring us the rewards that we wanted. But who’s to say that even if it did, if we had gotten to the second round or the third round that this particular move and my situation still wouldn’t have been made?”

YOU'VE BEEN A RESILIENT PERSON ALL YOUR LIFE, WHY ARE YOU COMFORTABLE WITH WALKING AWAY?: “I didn’t say I was comfortable. That’s your words. Don’t put words in my mouth. I’m not necessarily cool about this, but what am I supposed to do? My life has to continue. I feel proud about what we’ve done here contrary to popular belief. We were a seventh seed this year that was anywhere from a seventh to a ninth seed, could have been a 10th seed with this particular team. We weren’t quick. We just didn’t have what it takes to compete against some of the teams in the Western Conference. What it is, is what it is. I think last year’s team significantly overachieved. I really feel proud of what we did with that team. I didn’t like us losing in the first round to Golden State, but we accomplished the sixth-best record [in league history] and then what you’re going to have to do four years from now, like Nellie wanted me to take this program to another level, then four years from now you’ll sit around and the next guy that comes in, you’ll see what they’ve done compared to this tenure and the last tenure.”