Thunder tops Lakers with late 9-0 run

Source: Star-Telegram

Thunder 77, Lakers 75

Mavericks' Rick Carlisle named to NBA's Competition Committee

Source: Star-Telegram by By Dwain Price

Mavs coach is one of three coaches on Competition Committee.

Kevin Garnett leads Celtics past 76ers for 2-1 series lead

Source: Star-Telegram by By Dan Gelston

Celtics 107, 76ers 91

NBA appoints new Competition Committee (The Associated Press)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

NEW YORK (AP) Coaches Doc Rivers of Boston, Rick Carlisle of Dallas and Lionel Hollins of Memphis have been named to the NBA's Competition Committee.

Mavericks Keep Title Hopes Alive with Rick Carlisle Signing: Fan’s Take (Yahoo! Contributor Network)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

On Tuesday, May 15, 2012, the Dallas Mavericks took the first step in maintaining their championship-caliber team by re-signing their head coach Rick Carlisle to a four-year extension. Since joining the team in 2008, the Mavericks have gone 198-114 in the regular season. Despite fielding a winning team every year, and even capturing the franchise's first championship last season, Carlisle is often overlooked when discussing the top coaches in the NBA.

Coaches, owners have new voice in suggesting changes (AFP)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

Rick Carlisle, coach of the reigning champion Dallas Mavericks, and Dan Gilbert, the club owner spurned by LeBron James, are among 10 people named on Wednesday to the NBA's new competition committee.

Lakers Top-5 Playoff Blowouts Losses in the Kobe-era: Fan's Analysis (Yahoo! Contributor Network)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

As painful as the Los Angeles Lakers embarrassing blowout 119-90 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder was Monday night for Lakers fans like me, it has actually been worse before.

Pacers' Larry Bird is NBA Executive of the Year (The Associated Press)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

Everything always seemed to come so easily for Larry Bird on a basketball court.

AndyTobo Talks Free Agency

Source: Mavs Moneyball by LJRotter

AndyTobo Talks Free Agency

Have a look at Andy's piece from SBN Dallas. It talks about Deron Williams.

Rowdy, Proud and Loud... and other awesome(ly bad) slogans!

Source: Mavs Moneyball by LJRotter

Whether or not you're willing to admit it, marketing can have a massive effect on your daily life. How many times do you find yourself whistling along to a commercial jingle and then using that company because of their great campaign? (Seriously, if you're also guilty of this please tell me because sometimes I feel insane for knowing the words to the Empire Today song...) Also I realize there's a difference between marketing and advertising. I just couldn't actually tell you what it is.

Aaaanyhoo, SBNation's resident snark expert Jon Bois has been doing a series on

Carlisle on NBA's Competition Committee

Source: Full-Court Press by Star-Telegram

One day after receiving a four-year contract extension, Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle has been
named as part of the NBA’s new 10-person Competition Committee.

The committee is comprised of two owners, three head coaches, four general managers and one representative from the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA). In addition to Carlisle, the head coaches on the committee include Memphis’ Lionel Hollins and Boston’s Doc Rivers. The two owners on the committee are Cleveland’s Dan Gilbert and Golden State’s Joe Lacob. The committee’s general managers are headed up by Bryan Colangelo (Toronto), Mitch Kupchak (Los Angeles Lakers), Kevin O’Connor (Utah) and Sam Presti (Oklahoma City). Later on, the NBPA will designate one of its members to serve on the 10-person committee. One of the roles of the Competition Committee is to vote in favor of changing a playing rule or any competition-related issue. That recommendation would then be brought before the Board of Governors for their vote and consideration. The first meeting of the new Competition Committee will occur during next month’s NBA Finals. Previously, the Competition Committee included the general managers from each of the 30 NBA teams. “The Board decided that the inclusion of owners and head coaches on the Competition Committee would add valuable perspectives to discussions about our game and how it might be improved,” Joel Litvin, NBA President, League Operations, said in a statement. “At the same time, we will continue to
receive input on competition and rules matters from all 30 teams through the General Managers Committee." A new General Managers Committee will meet once a year to talk about numerous competition issues and the state of the NBA. -- Dwain Price Follow me on Twitter @dwainprice

Carlisle named to NBA's Competition Committee

Source: Star-Telegram by By Dwain Price

One day after receiving a four-year contract extension, Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle has been named as part of the NBA's new 10-person Competition Committee.

• Get updates on the Mavericks blog
• Follow Dwain Price on Twitter

Rick Carlisle joins new competition committee

Source: ESPN Dallas

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle is one of three NBA head coaches on the newly restructured competition committee announced by the league Wednesday. Carlisle, the current president of the NBA Coaches Association, joins Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers and Memphis Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins. Also on the committee are team owners Dan Gilbert (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Joe Lacob (Golden State Warriors) and general managers Bryan Colangelo (Toronto Raptors), Mitch Kupchak (Los Angeles Lakers), Kevin O’Connor (Utah Jazz) and Sam Presti (Oklahoma City Thunder).

Rick Carlisle has faith in Mark Cuban

Source: ESPN Dallas

IRVING, Texas -- Not every head coach is equipped with the patience level to co-exist long term with an owner who practically sits on the team bench during most games, chronically chastises referees and talks to his players on the periphery of the timeout huddle. (See Don Nelson, Avery Johnson). Rick Carlisle, however, seemed to come to Dallas in May 2008 not only prepared for it, but eager to embrace owner Mark Cuban's intense and unorthodox style of watching his team play.

Rick Carlisle one of three coaches added to new NBA Competition Committee

Source: DallasNews.com

Rick Carlisle has faith in Mark Cuban, Donnie Nelson

Source: ESPN Dallas

IRVING, Texas -- Not every head coach is equipped with the patience level to co-exist long term with an owner who practically sits on the team bench during most games, chronically chastises referees and talks to his players on the periphery of the timeout huddle. (See Don Nelson, Avery Johnson). Rick Carlisle, however, seemed to come to Dallas in May 2008 not only prepared for it, but eager to embrace owner Mark Cuban's intense and unorthodox style of watching his team play.

Rick Carlisle Extension: Re-Signing Coach Shows Mavs' Commitment to Winning

Source: Bleacher Report

The Mavericks have re-signed coach Rick Carlisle through the 2015-2016 season, effectively keeping the championship-winning coach on staff for a continued run at the NBA title.

Although the Mavericks finished seventh in the Western Conference and were ousted in the first round of the playoffs, Carlisle's re-signing shows that the Mavericks are committed to winning another title.

Rick Carlisle is one of the most under-hyped, underrated coaches in the league. He is an excellent teacher of the game, as well as a fantastic strategist. His leadership and knowledge earned the Dallas Mavericks an NBA title last season over the favored Miami Heat.

Carlisle is a proven winner. In a decade of head coaching the Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers and Dallas Mavericks, he has only finished under .500 in the regular season once. Similarly, he has only missed the playoffs one time, a testament to his winning ways.

In addition to that, he has only lost in the first round of the playoffs three out of nine times, similarly showing success in the playoffs. One of those three years was this year.

Now, if the Mavericks are really committed to winning the title, they will make a movement to becoming more youthful.

The Mavericks are currently among the oldest teams in the NBA. This comes as no surprise, considering that six players are 34 years old or older. These players include Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd, all of whom are looked upon to be the stars of the team.

Mark Cuban, the owner of the Mavericks, has always been one to pursue guys who are winners. His re-signing of Carlisle proves that he is still hungry to win another NBA Championship, which may come again under Carlisle's watch.

Read more Dallas Mavericks news on BleacherReport.com

Jason Terry Pays a Visit to the Guys on TNT

Source: Mavs Moneyball by LJRotter

Jason Terry Pays a Visit to the Guys on TNT

The man has a future in broadcasting.

Point Guard Shopping

Source: Mavs Moneyball by adisudarshan

Editor's Note: Front-paged for impressive, in-depth analysis!

There was some good discussion and feedback after my post on the center market, so I thought I'd move on and look at the free agency picture for the Mavs when it comes to point guards.

There are many options for the Mavs here, with Jason Kidd and Delonte West entering unrestricted free agency this summer (and potentially not returning), so there will inevitably be some interesting moves here, unlike at center, where the Mavs could conceivably return the same rotation (if they keep Haywood and Mahinmi).

There are

David West hustles Pacers off court after Game 2 win, but not quick enough for Dwyane Wade (VIDEO) (Ball Don't Lie)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

After Chris Bosh's Game 1 abdominal strain changed the landscape of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Indiana Pacers took advantage of their opportunity in Game 2, scratching out a 78-75 win over the Heat on Tuesday night. It wasn't pretty … Continue reading →

Heat's Dwyane Wade takes shot at Mavericks after Miami loss to Pacers

Source: DallasNews.com

The Spurs, the Mavs, Free Agents, and the Future

Source: Mavs Moneyball by andytobo

As I watched the Spurs sail through their second-round opener, making it five relatively comfortable playoff wins in a row, two thoughts competed in the red angry mass that is my basketball field of vision.

The first was: They’re even older than us. It’s not true, of course. Sure, Tim Duncan is 36 and Manu 34, but the real MVP of the Spurs this year has been Tony Parker who, while a Spur forever, is yet 29. And they’ve added guys like the 27 year old

Heat fail to fill void left by Chris Bosh (Yahoo! Sports)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

The Heat succumbed to the Pacers' physicality in Game 2.

Countdown: No. 13 Yi Jianlian

Source: ESPN Dallas

Third in a 15-part series ranking the Mavericks' 2011-12 roster in importance of bringing back next season. From the day Yi Jianlian stepped foot in the Dallas Mavericks' locker room, the 7-footer had his own Chinese media contingent following him at every home game and some road games, too. That's right, a small crew consisting of a couple of reporters and a videographer, all quite polite, courteous and friendly, were there to get Yi's perspective, and that was mostly from his spot on the bench.

Spurs wear down Clippers to take Game 1

Source: Star-Telegram

Spurs 108, Clippers 92

Bringing back Rick Carlisle is a good move for the Mavericks

Source: Star-Telegram by By Dwain Price

DALLAS -- With coach Rick Carlisle receiving a new four-year contract extension Tuesday, the Dallas Mavericks have now crossed one important item off their off-season checklist.

Indiana Pacers take home-court advantage from Miami Heat

Source: Star-Telegram by By Tim Reynolds

Pacers 78, Heat 75

NBA notes: Irving Rookie of the Year; Rose faces long recovery

Source: Star-Telegram

<span class="bold">Irving named top rookie: </span>Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving is the NBA's Rookie of the Year, receiving 117 of 120 possible first-place votes from a nationwide media panel of 120 writers and broadcasters. Irving finished with 592 points, way ahead of Minnesota's Ricky Rubio (170) and Denver's Kenneth Faried (129), who was third.

Mavs need that "other'' free agent, too

Source: Full-Court Press by Star-Telegram

DALLAS -- Now that the Dallas Mavericks have signed coach Rick Carlisle to a four-year contract extension, it's time for the franchise to get that other prized free agent under lock and key.

The Mavs want Brooklyn Nets free agent point guard Deron Williams in the worst possible way. Unfortunately, if Williams is all about the money, he won't be leaving Brooklyn.

Under terms of the collective bargaining agreement, the most the Mavs can offer Williams is a four-year, $81 million contract. But the Nets have offer The Colony native a five-year, $109 million deal.

Williams has a tough choice to make this summer. Stay with a team that was 22-44 this season, or come home and try to help his hometown team regain the NBA title they won last year.

-- Dwain Price

Follow me on Twitter

@dwainprice

Pacers win in Miami to tie series (The SportsXchange)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

MIAMI -- The Miami Heat got some of the best of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, but a two-man game for a team built around the premise of a Big Three wasn't enough Tuesday night.

Coach Rick Carlisle agrees to new deal with Mavs (The Associated Press)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

DALLAS (AP) The coach who led the Dallas Mavericks to their only NBA championship is staying put.

"Grateful" Rick Carlisle "doesn't take responsibility lightly"

Source: DallasNews.com

Rick Carlisle: I see us very active in all 3 areas

Source: ESPN Dallas

IRVING, Texas -- During his Game 4 news conference following the first-round sweep to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle raised some already curious eyebrows when he started talking about his time with the club in the past tense. For a man without a contract, was he using calculated language? Was Carlisle planting the seeds for his departure? Well, the coach with the new four-year contract as of Tuesday said he wasn't trying to send hints through his verb tense.

NBA roundup: Bulls' Rose may miss 2 months of next season (The SportsXchange)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose could miss the two months of next season while recovering from knee surgery.

Rick Carlisle Extension: Mavericks Coach Deserved New Deal Despite Down Year

Source: Bleacher Report

Rick Carlisle has proven himself as one of the better coaches in basketball throughout the years. That is why he deserved a new deal with the Dallas Mavericks this offseason despite their quick exit from the playoffs.

The Mavericks announced on Tuesday that they had re-signed Carlisle for four more years.

Owner Mark Cuban said in a statement, via USA Today:

"We are excited that Rick will be back with the Mavericks for at least the next four years. He is a proven winner, a great teacher and a coach that will help the Mavericks improve as a team and as an organization."

Forget the fact that the Mavericks barely held onto a playoff spot this season, entering the postseason as the Western Conference's No. 7 seed. Forget that they were swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder. This was an aging team that was destined to slow down.

What Carlisle did in his past three seasons with the Mavericks trumps this season's collapse. He led the Mavericks to three straight 50-game campaigns, accentuated by the team's championship in 2010-2011. He led them past the favored Miami Heat, proving experience and simple execution can transcend the more talented.

Carlisle has been in the league for 10 seasons and missed the playoffs just once. This is despite coaching three different teams in the Mavericks, Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons.

Despite the usual cracks that he looks like Jim Carrey, he's anything but a comedian on the court, his intense demeanor evident from the moment he steps out on the court. He plans for every situation way beforehand and expects his players to execute his game plan perfectly.

Carlisle was told to work with an aging team this season, and the result was predictable—an early exit from the playoffs. But the Mavericks will have some money to spend this offseason, and you can bet they'll go after a high-profile player. Someone like, say, Deron Williams.

The reality is, if you give Carlisle a championship-caliber team, he's going to make the most of it. Cuban identified that, and Mavericks fans should be ecstatic they have the veteran coach for another four years.

 

Follow me on Twitter. We can talk about the NBA together.

Read more Dallas Mavericks news on BleacherReport.com

Lakers’ Ebanks Ejected in Game 1 Vs. Thunder, Forgets He’s Devin Ebanks (Yahoo! Contributor Network)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

COMMENTARY | The fact that Los Angeles Lakers forward Devin Ebanks was tossed from Monday night's Game 1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder late in the fourth quarter after his team had clearly lost the game normally wouldn't be very newsworthy.

Dirk's Sick NBA Finals Performance More Impressive Than Jordan's 1997 Flu Game

Source: Bleacher Report

When Kobe Bryant recently scored 31 points in Game 6 of the first round playoff series against the Nuggets despite a stomach illness, some pundits compared his performance to Michael Jordan’s “flu game” in the 1997 NBA Finals.

I didn’t see or hear of a single mention of another great sick playoff performance that happened not 15 years ago, but just last year in the NBA Finals.

And I argue that Dirk Nowitzki’s performance was at least as important to his team as Jordan’s was, and even more admirable considering that Dirk was leading the Mavericks against the heavily-favored Heat while MJ’s Bulls were favored to beat Utah in the 1997 finals.

Another reason Dirk’s performance in Game 4 of the Finals last year was more impressive than Jordan’s in 1997 was that the Mavs absolutely had to win that game. If Dallas had lost, the Mavs would have been down 3-1 and would have had to play two of the final three potential games in Miami. No team has ever come back from such a deficit in the Finals to win the NBA championship, though a few have done so in earlier playoff rounds.

Had the Bulls lost to Utah in Game 5 in 1997, they still had the final two games at home. Numerous teams have rallied from a 3-2 deficit to win the title, including the Lakers in 2010.

Still another reason it was more impressive was that Dirk was fighting to overcome a playoff “loser” image to lead Dallas to its first NBA title. Jordan didn’t have to play with that kind of pressure in 1997 as he had already led the Bull to four titles by then.

After Dirk’s sick game, many argued that it didn’t compare with Jordan’s “legendary” flu game. Some claimed Dirk was not as sick as Jordan, even though Dirk’s temperature reached a reported 102 during the game, about as high as Jordan’s did in 1997.

Some claimed Dirk’s stats didn’t measure up to Jordan’s. Dirk might not have matched MJ's stats, but he came relatively close. Dirk played 39 minutes to MJ’s 44. Dirk scored 21 points to Jordan’s 38, but Dirk out-rebounded Jordan by four. Jordan had four more assists and more steals. Both shot less than 50 percent.

Both scored the winning basket in close games and led their teams to comeback wins. Dirk’s winning basket with 14 seconds left in a three-point victory capped a 10-point, five-rebound performance in the final period, as he led his team back from a nine-point deficit in the last 10 minutes.

Dirk, who also played with a torn tendon in a finger, was affected to the point that he couldn't even speak during his sick game.

Teammate Tyson Chandler put the performance in perspective: "The average person, you know, has sick days and battling 100-something (fever), it's just tough to get out of bed. This guy is playing against the best athletes in the world."

Dirk’s willingness to give his all even with a 102-degree temperature seemed to inspire his teammates more than Jordan did in 1997. Chandler had probably his best game of the finals with 13 points and 16 rebounds. Deshawn Stephenson probably did likewise with 11 points while helping to limit Lebron James to 8 points. Shawn Marion had an above-average performance with 16 points, while Jason Terry scored 17.

In MJ’s flu game, Scottie Pippen managed 17 points but only shot 29 percent. Dennis Rodman had just seven rebounds and two points. About the only teammates who played at least up to their potential were Luc Longley, who scored 12 points on six of seven shooting in 26 minutes, and Toni Kukoc, who had nine points on three of five shooting and four rebounds in 24 minutes.

Jordan did get more help from teammates than Kobe did during his recent sick game, when the Lakers were blown out despite Bryant's 31 points. Bryant’s failure to inspire teammates by his sick performance further shows how tough it can be to do that, even when the stakes are high.

Dirk’s Game 4 performance set a tone for the Mavs’ final two wins, which were not quite as close as that game. It propelled the Mavs to their first—and perhaps only—title.

That is the ultimate reason it was more impressive than Jordan's 1997 flu game. Note that I am saying it was more impressive of an athletic feat, not that Dirk outplayed Jordan statistically.

A Gatorade commercial that runs these days features Jordan hitting the winning three-point basket in his flu game and implies that drinking Gatorade had something to do with his performance. Health groups lament that the commercial wrongly encourages kids to play while ill.

But the real question is left hanging: why did Gatorade have to dig out a 15-year-old sick playoff performance when it had one from just last year?

Read more Dallas Mavericks news on BleacherReport.com

Rick Carlisle, Dallas Mavericks Agree to 4-Year Contract

Source: Bleacher Report

Before the Dallas Mavericks head into the most anticipated summer in franchise history, they had to take care of some necessary business first. After weeks of anxiety, they finally got it done.

According to ESPN Dallas, Rick Carlisle signed a new four-year contract to stay the Mavericks head coach until the 2016-17 season.

"We are excited that Rick will be back with the Mavericks for at least the next four years," said Dallas owner Mark Cuban in a statement. "He is a proven winner, a great teacher, and a coach that will help the Mavericks improve as a team and as an organization."

Mavs.com beat writer Earl K. Snead first broke the news on Twitter.

 

Mavs officially announced today they have re-signed coach Rick Carlisle. Terms of the deal were not disclosed by the team.

— Earl K. Sneed (@EKS_MavsNBA) https://twitter.com/EKS_MavsNBA/status/202471552292364289" data-datetime="2012-05-15T18:52:34+00:00">May 15, 2012

 

 

 

One season after leading Dallas to their first NBA championship in franchise history, Carlisle guided the Mavericks to the team's 12th straight playoff appearance in the lockout-shortened season, but the Mavericks were swept in the first round by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

There was much curiosity as to why Cuban and general manager Donnie Nelson took longer than expected to bring Carlisle back for the eventual new era in Dallas. He'll now get to come back with not only Dirk Nowitzki in the fold, but possibly a brand new team as well.

This brand new team that Carlisle will lead will hopefully be headlined by All-Star point guard Deron Williams as the Mavericks look to lure the Dallas native back to his hometown.

Since coming on as Dallas head coach in 2008, Carlisle has posted a record of 198-114 with a playoff appearance in each season, and has compiled 479 wins in his 10-year coaching career that included stints with Indiana and Detroit.

Read more Dallas Mavericks news on BleacherReport.com

Lakers Lay Egg, Nest on Fire: A Fan Perspective (Yahoo! Contributor Network)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

You never really know what magic Kobe Bryant is preparing on any given day during the playoffs. Clearly, none of it was on display last night in their first second-round playoff game against the Oklahoma City Thunder (May 14). As you're reading, the Thunder just scored again.

Another Term

Source: The Two Man Game by Rob Mahoney

The Dallas Mavericks, without even the slightest hesitation, have now executed the easiest and most predictable item on their off-season agenda. According to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News (and as confirmed by team release), a four-year contract extension for Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle is now complete, removing even the slightest possibility that such a brilliant basketball mind could somehow stray from Dallas.

Calls don’t come much easier than this one; there’s only a small cut of NBA coaches who make a tangibly positive impact on their team’s play, and Carlisle happens to be one of them. While many coaches are tempted by the safety of formula, Carlisle finds — and ultimately succumbs to — allure in flexibility. Consistent roles are among the great red herrings of professional basketball, and its to Carlisle’s credit that he’s dispensed with that farce and pushed for basketball players to be basketball players, without worry or need for self-defeating promises. I’m sure many in the NBA would feel safe in knowing that their position on a particular team is never questioned, but Carlisle’s rotational philosophy is empowered by freedom.

If sitting a scorer for the sake of defense is called for, he does it. If playing his starting center just 12 minutes a night gives his team the best chance to win, he won’t hesitate. If an oddly constructed zone defense makes the most sense for his defensive personnel, he’ll thwart convention. Carlisle isn’t just valuable because he makes the right moves, but because he has the audacity to attempt all of the moves. He’s wrong plenty, but his desires to shift his lineups and manipulate the game aren’t at all misplaced, and his team is ultimately best served by his uncanny ability and unending willingness to change directions.

The Mavericks have a catch in Carlisle, and that’s no less true now than it was last June. He’s a premium commodity in a middle-heavy pool, and what he may lack in mystique, he more than makes up for in ingenuity.

Headcoach Rick Carlisle signs Contract Extension for 4 more Years with the Dallas Mavericks

Source: Mavs Moneyball by DOH

The Dallas Mavericks announced today they have signed Head Coach Rick Carlisle for four more Years. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed just yet. Technically, it's a contract extension, because his current deal was set to expire by July, 1st.

(Cue Cuban, Mark) "We are excited that Rick will be back with the Mavericks for at least the next four years. He is a proven winner, a great teacher and a coach that will help the Mavericks improve as a team and as an organization."

After two 1st Round

Donnie Nelson "proud and relieved" to re-sign Rick Carlisle

Source: DallasNews.com

Rick Carlisle's Contract Is Extended

Source: Mavs Moneyball by Tim Cato

Rick Carlisle's Contract Is Extended

Hopefully, this is the first of many great off-season moves.

Cuban glad Carlisle will be back

Source: Full-Court Press by Star-Telegram

DALLAS -- Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is glad he was able to lock up Rick Carlisle as his coach for the next four years.

The Mavs announced the news of Carlisle's four-year contract extension just a short time ago.

"We are excited that Rick will be back with the Mavericks for at least the next four years,'' Cuban said. "He is a proven winner, a great teacher and a coach that will help the Mavericks improve as a team and as an organization.''

During his four seasons with the Mavs, Carlisle manufactured a 198-114 record and led the Mavs to the franchise's one and only NBA title last year.

-- Dwain Price

Follow me on Twitter

@dwainprice

Deal done, real work begins for Rick Carlisle

Source: ESPN Dallas

With the no-brainer contract becoming a done deal today, assuring that Rick Carlisle is signed up to coach the Dallas Mavericks through at least the 2015-16 season, the real work begins. When Carlisle arrived on the scene in 2008 as the successor to Avery Johnson, the roster included a 30-year-old Dirk Nowitzki, a 30-year old Jason Terry, a 30-year-old Shawn Marion and a 35-year-old Jason Kidd. Wow, seems like spring chickens. When Carlisle and the Mavs open training camp in October, the roster will include a 34-year-old Nowitzki and .

Carlisle gets new 4-year deal

Source: Star-Telegram by DWAIN PRICE

Rick Carlisle will return to coach the Dallas Mavericks next season.

Mavericks, Carlisle agree on new contract (The Associated Press)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

DALLAS (AP) Coach Rick Carlisle has agreed to a new contract with the Dallas Mavericks.