Rick Carlisle agrees to new contract with the Mavericks
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| Rick Carlisle is Dallas's first offseason move. (Getty Images) |
The Mavericks have signed head coach Rick Carlisle to a contract extension, the team announced Tuesday.
“We are excited that Rick will be back with the Mavericks for at least the next four years,” owner Mark Cuban said in a release. “He is a proven winner, a great teacher and a coach that will help the Mavericks improve as a team and as an organization.”
According to reports, it's a four-year deal for Carlisle.
In his first four seasons with the Mavericks, Carlisle has led the team to a 198-114 (.635) regular season record, three 50-plus win seasons and the franchise's first-ever title.
It seemed like it would be a no-brainer to retain Carlisle after winning a championship in 2011, but there seemed to be some hesitation from both the roster and the front office. Plus, Carlisle, who was set to be an extremely hot commodity, likely was weighing money options.
Dirk Nowitzki didn't seem all on board with Carlisle after the Mavs were eliminated by the Thunder.
“This team, this franchise obviously has a lot of decisions to make,” Nowitzki said. “That's obvious. Rick had a great four years here obviously. He took us to the promised land with a team that probably nobody thought could do it. I think he found a good mix over the years of stressing defense a lot and giving (Jason) Kidd some movement, giving him some freedom on the offensive end. Sometimes he did a good job getting out of the way and just letting us play and if he saw things are not going that well, call some plays and kind of pull us back in.
“I thought over the four years, he tried to do a good job. We'll have to wait and see what the decision is with him, but he did a great job and obviously led us to the promised land."
Not exactly a ringing endorsement. But president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson wasn't mincing words earlier in saying Carlisle "wasn't going anywhere." The Mavs had their coach. It was just about coming to an agreement.
Carlisle is the first signing for the Mavs in what's a pretty important summer. It was an obvious deal as Carlisle is one of the best coaches in the league. He's got championship pedigree, relates to players, knows the game, handles the media well and takes advantage of advanced stats. He's a wonderful coach and the Mavs made an easy decision in keeping him.
