Carlisle To Mavs

[King Taharqa]

DALLAS (AP)—Rick Carlisle will be the new coach of the Dallas Mavericks, a decision expected for nearly a week but slowed by contract negotiations.

The papers aren’t signed yet, but team owner Mark Cuban confirmed in an e-mail to The Associated Press on Friday night that a verbal deal is in place.

The contract “will be signed tomorrow (Saturday),” with a news conference Wednesday because Cuban will be out of town until then.

Reached late Friday, Carlisle said: “Whatever Mark told you is what’s going on. I’m not going to make any comments about it right now.”

Carlisle was the only candidate the Mavericks interviewed after firing coach Avery Johnson the morning after their second straight first-round playoff exit.

Cuban had never fired a coach or hired a coach from outside the organization. While he and Donnie Nelson, the team’s president of basketball operations, considered other candidates, they settled on Carlisle pretty quickly. A few interviews later, they began working on the contract and things dragged on.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_yl...v=ap&type=lgns

[Lonestar13]

they go from a Defensive minded coach that didn't get the team to play defense on a consistant basis to another Defensive minded coach...hmmmmmm