Rick Carlisle has been the best coach in Dallas Mavericks history. After taking over for Avery Johnson in the 2008-09 season, Carlisle has helped continue and further a very high standard of basketball for the Mavericks in the ultra tough Western Conference. He's also coached them to their only NBA championship. You don't want to risk losing a coach of Carlisle's caliber, especially heading into the eventual post-Dirk Nowitzki era.
That's why Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson are making sure they don't. According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, the Mavs have agreed to a five-year contract extension worth $35 million that will keep Carlisle around through the 2021-22 season. Carlisle is under contract for this season and next season, and then the extension will kick in for the 2017-18 season.
The Mavs announced the extension without disclosing the details of the deal.
The Dallas Mavericks announced today they have signed Head Coach Rick Carlisle to a contract extension. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We are excited to retain Coach Carlisle in the Mavericks family,” Owner Mark Cuban said. “He is a championship-caliber coach that has made this organization better on and off the court.”
This is a no-brainer for the Mavs and a great job to keep solidifying this team in the conversation of the Western Conference. While they've had a tough time bringing other stars to Dallas to complement Nowitzki as he enters the twilight of his career, Carlisle's great coaching and game planning with his assistant staff has kept them highly competitive.
He's currently the all-time franchise leader in coaching victories with 340 (against just 222 losses). He surpassed Don Nelson (339) with a victory over the Lakers this past week. He has the second-highest win percentage (60.5 percent) in team history behind Johnson (73.5 percent). For his career, Carlisle has a record of 621-433 with a playoff record of 57-58. The Mavs have missed the playoffs just once in Carlisle's time coaching the team.
