The Dallas Mavericks are an absolute disaster right now. Earlier this week, Donnie Nelson left the organization after spending the last 16 years as the head of the front office. Then Rick Carlisle stepped down abruptly, despite seemingly having received a vote of confidence from ownership.
So what happened, exactly?
During a recent appearance on the ‘Lowe Post’ podcast, ESPN NBA insider Tim MacMahon revealed that the relationship between team Luka Doncic and Carlisle had grown very tense.
How bad was it?
At one point, Doncic publicly mocked and taunted him during a game – in front of other players.
“(Brian) Windhorst passed this on to me earlier in the season and I was able to confirm it. … It was a timeout. Luka, as tends to happen, was p-ssed,” MacMahon said.
“And he yells at Rick, ‘Who’s in charge, you or Bob?’ He yells it front of all the Mavericks players, in front of all the assistants, anybody down on the floor could hear it. The Luka-Rick relationship was dicey.”
“Bob” is Haralabos Voulgaris – a former pro gambler who was hired in 2018 as director of quantitative research and has since reportedly turned into the team’s “shadow GM.” Doncic has made his feelings regarding Voulgaris very clear.
Overall, the relationship between Doncic and Carlisle was described as one full of “simmering tension.”
So where do all parties involved go from here? Well, the Mavericks have plans to hire a new GM first – and then a new head coach. Doncic has reacted to all the recent changes in his own special way, but he will likely have a lot of input on what happens from here on out.
The next domino to drop, most likely, will be a Kristaps Porzingis trade. Doncic despises him and the pair hasn’t been able to win much together. Beyond that—who knows?
One way or another, this is shaping up to be a pretty crazy summer for the Mavericks.
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