# Ex-Pacers, Pistons coach Carlisle interviews for Mavs' job



## t1no (Jul 10, 2005)

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3379132

*Ex-Pacers, Pistons coach Carlisle interviews for Mavs' job*

Former Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons coach Rick Carlisle was the first person to interview for the Dallas Mavericks' coaching vacancy, meeting Thursday with Mavericks president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson according to NBA front-office sources.

Sources told ESPN.com that Mavs owner Mark Cuban was not scheduled to participate in Carlisle's first interview for the job.

ESPN.com reported Thursday that Nelson was Cuban's first choice to succeed Avery Johnson as coach, but club sources say Nelson does not want to leave his personnel post and Cuban will not try to force Nelson to reconsider. In an interview Thursday with ESPN Radio's Dallas affiliate [KESN 103.3 FM], Nelson did not dispute the idea that the job would already be his if he wanted it but also insisted, "I think there's better candidates out there."

Sources say Dallas also has an interest in interviewing Jeff Van Gundy, who, like Carlisle, has been working as a TV analyst for ESPN since his last coaching job. But Van Gundy reiterated Friday he's "not interested in coaching anywhere [next season] due to family reasons." Van Gundy added that the Mavericks have not contacted him, but it is well known in Mavericks circles that Cuban is a Van Gundy fan and vice versa.

Nelson told The Dallas Morning News in Friday's editions that the Mavs would "show some patience in our search because, after the first round, there could be some very good candidates available."

Phoenix's Mike D'Antoni, Detroit's Flip Saunders and Washington's Eddie Jordan have all been mentioned as Dallas candidates under those circumstances, although there have been no indications that either Saunders or Jordan is facing an immediate threat to their current jobs.

D'Antoni was scheduled to meet with Suns president Steve Kerr and owner Robert Sarver on Friday, with D'Antoni's departure from the Suns widely expected. ESPN.com reported Friday that Chicago is D'Antoni's most likely landing spot if he leaves the Suns, although Dallas and the New York Knicks have strong interest as well.

Carlisle, meanwhile, also interviewed with the Knicks and new team president Donnie Walsh this week, according to a Friday report by the New York Post's Peter Vecsey. Another ESPN analyst -- former Knicks guard Mark Jackson -- remains the consensus favorite to land the Knicks' job.

Forecasting the outcome of the search for Johnson's successor in Dallas, however, is considerably tougher. For all of Cuban's perceived volatility, this is the first time he has fired a coach and the first time he is considering external candidates.

Cuban inherited Don Nelson as a coach when he assumed ownership control of the Mavs in January 2000 and ultimately gave Nelson two contract extensions after they hit it off in those first few months together. Cuban then targeted Johnson as Nelson's replacement when Johnson was still a player and assistant coach, repeatedly observing Johnson's ability to lead and motivate from his daily seat in close proximity to the Dallas bench. Don Nelson, furthermore, asked out more than he was pushed out in March 2005.

But giving this big job to someone he knows that well, as he likes to do in all of his businesses, doesn't seem possible for Cuban this time. Not unless Donnie Nelson -- formerly a hot-shot coaching prospect before his full-time move to the front office when Johnson took over as head coach -- unexpectedly changes his mind and asks for his clipboard back.

"My job is to get the best guy that we can get out there," Donnie Nelson said in his radio interview. "I'm on the list. I'm just the last guy and hopefully it doesn't get to that. ... I'm saying we'd have to get through a very, very long list in order for [Donnie Nelson to coach the team] and don't look for it to happen."


----------



## VeN (May 10, 2005)

t1no said:


> ESPN.com reported Thursday that Nelson was Cuban's first choice to succeed Avery Johnson as coach


wow... 


just wow.


----------



## t1no (Jul 10, 2005)

Carlisle is our new head coach, reported by NBATV.


----------



## VeN (May 10, 2005)

seriously?


----------



## thaKEAF (Mar 8, 2004)

:uhoh: uhh


----------



## VeN (May 10, 2005)

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/scorecard/nbanews.asp?articleID=232958


Report: Mavs to hire Carlisle
New York, NY (Sports Network) - Rick Carlisle is reportedly headed back to the NBA as a head coach.

Analyst Peter Vecsey, speaking on NBA TV, reported Carlisle would take over for the recently fired Avery Johnson. 

In six seasons as a coach, two with Detroit and four with Indiana, Carlisle has compiled a 281-211 record. He was the league's coach of the year in 2002 when he guided the Pistons to a 50-win season. 

Carlisle's career playoff record stands at 30-32. Indiana finished just 35-47 in 2006-07, and Carlisle didn't return to the team for the following season. In four seasons as the Pacers mentor, Carlisle compiled a 181-147 record and the team made the NBA playoffs in three of his four seasons at the helm. 

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. 

Despite having three years left on a five-year deal he signed after Dallas' run to the 2006 NBA Finals, Johnson finds himself unemployed after two straight exits in the first round of the playoffs. Johnson led the Mavs to a 194-70 record during the regular season, but his postseason mark is 23-24. The Mavericks have lost 12 of their last 15 playoff games. 

Dallas lost to New Orleans, 99-94, on Tuesday night, as the Hornets wrapped up a five-game victory over the Mavs in the Western Conference quarterfinals. The first-round defeat was the second straight for Dallas, which was eliminated by Golden State in the 2007 conference quarterfinals in one of the biggest upsets in NBA playoff history.


----------



## Coatesvillain (Jul 17, 2002)

It doesn't make sense. If they didn't like Avery why bring in a coach who is even more of a control freak? Sure, Carlisle is a better coach but he brings a lot of the very same problems. I don't get it.


----------



## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

Coatesvillain said:


> It doesn't make sense. If they didn't like Avery why bring in a coach who is even more of a control freak? Sure, Carlisle is a better coach but he brings a lot of the very same problems. I don't get it.


That sums up my feelings, I don't understand it either.


----------



## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

t1no said:


> "...we'd have to get through a very, very long list..."


They must've got everybody together in a room! :whoknows:

:gossip:


----------



## HB (May 1, 2004)

Bad move


----------



## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

Believe it or not, I don't mind having a control freak running this team. A control freak may be needed for this team because there is no "real" leader.

The problem with AJ, the control freak, is the fact that he LOST THE PLAYERS...


----------



## LionOfJudah (May 27, 2003)

edwardcyh said:


> Believe it or not, I don't mind having a control freak running this team. A control freak may be needed for this team because there is no "real" leader.
> 
> The problem with AJ, the control freak, is the fact that he LOST THE PLAYERS...


Do we know he lost the players or is there a rift in the locker room since the Kidd trade? 


As for Rick Carlisle... His last season coaching was the downfall of the Pacers with the Ron Artest incident. Wasn't directly his fault but happened under his watch... I really don't recall him doing anything amazing with the clipboard since all his teams have been talented eastern conference teams back when the gap between the east and west was even larger. Who knows, he maybe older and wiser from these experiences.


----------



## t1no (Jul 10, 2005)

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3379848

Sources: Carlisle is front-runner for Mavs head coaching gig

Rick Carlisle wasn't just the first candidate to interview for the Dallas Mavericks' four-day-old coaching vacancy.

Carlisle has quickly established himself as the likely successor to Avery Johnson after being flown to Dallas for a second interview, according to NBA coaching sources.

Sources told ESPN.com that Carlisle met with Mavericks president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson on Thursday in Indianapolis and then traveled to Texas on Friday to meet directly with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. As part of Friday's agenda, sources said, Carlisle also had an introductory meeting with Mavs franchise forward Dirk Nowitzki.

"We've had an extremely productive meeting with Rick," Nelson said Saturday. "He's got a wealth of basketball knowledge. We're very impressed with him, but the process is ongoing."

Multiple sources close to the process have described Carlisle as the Mavs' clear-cut No. 1 candidate, indicating that contract negotiations are already underway. It's also believed that Carlisle intends to bring two recent NBA head coaches to Dallas as assistants on his staff -- Dwane Casey and Terry Stotts -- but one team source insisted: "Nothing is done with anyone."

Neither Cuban nor Carlisle could immediately be reached for comment.

ESPN.com reported Thursday that Nelson was Cuban's first choice to replace Johnson, but club sources say Nelson does not want to leave his personnel post and Cuban will not try to force Nelson to reconsider. In an interview Thursday with ESPN Radio's Dallas affiliate [KESN 103.3 FM], Nelson did not dispute the idea that the job would already be his if he wanted it but also insisted, "I think there's better candidates out there."

But Carlisle is the only one of five candidates on the Mavericks' A-list who is definitely available. And it appears Cuban is not inclined to wait to see if head coach Mike D'Antoni can extricate himself from Phoenix as expected or if Detroit elects to part company with Flip Saunders.

The only other name currently on Cuban's radar is Jeff Van Gundy, who, like Carlisle, has been working as an ESPN analyst this season. But Van Gundy insisted again Friday that he's "not interested in coaching anywhere [next season] due to family reasons." Van Gundy added that Dallas has not contacted him, although it is well known Cuban is a Van Gundy fan and vice versa.

If Carlisle does strike a deal with Cuban, questions will inevitably be raised about his coaching style and demeanor, which critics are bound to liken to the conservative, demanding Johnson. But Carlisle, 48, would also appear to offer the best blend of offensive and defensive pedigree after posting a record of 281-211 (.571) in stints at Detroit and Indiana. Mavericks management -- and Nowitzki -- have described that as a priority in recent days.

After serving as an offensive coordinator of sorts for Larry Bird with the Indiana Pacers during Bird's strong three-season stint as Pacers coach from 1997-98 through 1999-2000 -- which included a trip to the 2000 NBA Finals -- Carlisle won NBA Coach of the Year honors in his first season in Detroit in 2001-02. He posted consecutive 50-32 records before the Pistons replaced him with Larry Brown. Carlisle moved to the Pacers and went 61-21 in his first season before losing in the conference finals to Brown during Detroit's 2004 championship run. He then guided the Pacers to two more playoff bids in spite of seemingly constant off-court turmoil and injury which followed Indiana's infamous brawl in Detroit in November 2004.

Carlisle has also interviewed with the Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks. The meeting with the Knicks and new team president Donnie Walsh -- Carlisle's former Indiana boss -- happened this week as well, according to a Friday report by the New York Post's Peter Vecsey. In Saturday's editions, Vecsey reported that Carlisle has already agreed to terms with the Mavericks, which Dallas disputes.

Ex-Knicks guard Mark Jackson, also an ESPN analyst, remains the consensus favorite to land the Knicks' job. Jackson has likewise interviewed with Chicago, but Johnson is expected to be summoned for interviews by both the Knicks and Bulls. ESPN.com also reported Friday that Chicago is the most likely landing spot for D'Antoni if he and the Suns do part ways.

Back in Dallas, this is the first time Cuban -- for all of his perceived volatility -- has fired a coach and the first time he's considering external candidates.

Cuban inherited Don Nelson as a coach when he assumed ownership control of the Mavs in January 2000 and ultimately gave Nelson two contract extensions after they hit it off in those first few months together. Cuban then targeted Johnson as Nelson's replacement when Johnson was still a player and assistant coach, repeatedly observing Johnson's ability to lead and motivate from his daily seat in close proximity to the Dallas bench. Don Nelson, furthermore, asked out more than he was pushed out in March 2005.

Yet it looks as though Cuban is prepared to move quicker than anyone expected, even though giving such a big job to someone he knows well -- as he generally likes to do in his businesses -- would only be possible this time if Donnie Nelson changed his mind and asked for his clipboard back.

Although he was once a hot-shot coaching prospect before his full-time move to the front office when Johnson took over as head coach, Nelson insists that's not an option.

"My job is to get the best guy that we can get out there," Donnie Nelson said in his radio interview. "I'm on the list. I'm just the last guy and hopefully it doesn't get to that. ... I'm saying we'd have to get through a very, very long list in order for [Donnie Nelson to coach the team] and don't look for it to happen."


----------



## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

The only way Kidd can be effective is if you let him play in the open court.All Carlisle does is call isolation plays one after the other...I think the Kidd trade was foolish,but it's done and the only way you get any value from him is to give him some freedom and let the team run the floor.

I don't think that Carlisle is a better coach than Johnson either.At best it's a push.


----------



## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

Even if we do bring in a coach who likes to play a faster pace, he can't make Kidd younger. He has already looked old this year, add another summer/offseason to it and I don't know if he can even be a starting point guard in this league anymore.


----------



## hamahakkimies (Jul 13, 2006)

t1no said:


> http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3379132
> 
> *Ex-Pacers, Pistons coach Carlisle interviews for Mavs' job*
> 
> ...Carlisle, meanwhile, also interviewed with the Knicks and new team president Donnie Walsh this week, according to a Friday report by the *New York Post's Peter Vecsey*. Another ESPN analyst -- former Knicks guard Mark Jackson -- remains the consensus favorite to land the Knicks' job.





VeN said:


> http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/scorecard/nbanews.asp?articleID=232958
> 
> Report: Mavs to hire Carlisle
> New York, NY (Sports Network) - Rick Carlisle is reportedly headed back to the NBA as a head coach.
> ...





t1no said:


> http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3379848
> 
> Sources: Carlisle is front-runner for Mavs head coaching gig
> 
> ...


Am I only one who remains at least a little bit sceptical of all this?


----------



## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

hamahakkimies said:


> Am I only one who remains at least a little bit sceptical of all this?


Yeah, it's Vecsey, but I think it's a done deal. They are probably going to wait a few days before they announce it because the dismissal of Avery was only a couple of days ago.


----------



## Dre (Jun 20, 2003)

I don't mind a dictator as long as he's a good coach. The major issue wasn't Avery as a control freak, it's Avery who's constantly outcoached and befuddled when his gameplan breaks down.


----------



## rock747 (Aug 3, 2004)

If the players buy into Carsisle's system, they will win. Carsisle knows how to win...but he's not really an enforcer, more of an X and O's guy. There were times when he lost control of Jackson, Artest, and Tinsley. The games could get boring too...as Carsisle can micromanage heavily.


----------



## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

It almost sounds like for the sake of Kidd, D'Antoni is best fit. :biggrin:


----------



## Pacers Fan (Aug 25, 2002)

edwardcyh said:


> The problem with AJ, the control freak, is the fact that he LOST THE PLAYERS...


Carlisle did as well partially in Detroit, but more so in Indy.

I really don't understand this. These two seem to have the exact same style of coaching. Maybe Cuban thinks 80% of the offense being a Dirk or Josh Howard isolation will bring this team back to the finals. Carlisle's a good defensive coach, but the isolations become really annoying and ineffective.


----------



## Ruff Draft (Nov 21, 2004)

Hopefully Carlisle is smart enough to catch onto it.


----------

