Dallas to Introduce Carlisle Today

Dallas will formally introduce new coach Rick Carlisle to the media today.

Dallas Close to Deal With Carlisle, D'Anotni Free to Pursue Other Employment Opportunities

According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, sources indicate that Dallas is close to hiring Rick Carlisle to replace the recently fired Avery Johnson as its new head coach.

Carlisle -- or whomever becomes Dallas' next coach -- will inherit a roster that's likely to be in flux:

"(Jason) Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki are likely to return, but the rest of the players under contract -- Josh Howard, Erick Dampier, Jason Terry, Jerry Stackhouse and Eddie Jones -- could all be traded. Problem is, they all have expensive contracts and Howard is the only one not in his 30s. If the Mavs use their option to keep 23-year-old Brandon Bass, he'd be their youngest player by five years."

Meanwhile, reports out of Phoenix indicate that Phoenix General Manager Steve Kerr has granted Mike D'Antoni permission to talk with other NBA teams (the Knicks and Chicago) about their coaching vacancies. For the moment, D'Antoni remains head coach of the Phoenix Suns; but he's free to pursue other employment opportunities. As Jerry Brown of the East Valley Tribune reports:

"Suns general manager Steve Kerr said as late as Friday morning, about an hour before he met with D’Antoni and owner Robert Sarver, that he would not grant such permission, but apparently had a change of mind after the sides talked.

'As we have continued to convey, we value Mike D’Antoni as the head coach of the Phoenix Suns and would like him to continue leading this basketball team,' Kerr said in a statement Monday. 'Because he has requested to speak to other teams about their head coaching vacancies, we have granted him permission. We will have no further comment until this process further evolves.'"

Brown continues:

"D’Antoni still has two years and $8.5 million left on his deal with the Suns, but Phoenix wouldn’t be on the hook for any of that if he signs on with (Chicago), the Knicks or any other NBA team before next season.

The relationship between D’Antoni and Kerr, which has been tenuous since an argument over philosophies in November, reached another level with Kerr’s refusal to back D’Antoni amid questions of his future before and during the playoffs. Management also let it be known they would like to see changes – from a more defensive-minded voice in the coaching staff to seeing more players included in his playing rotation."

Dallas Fires Avery Johnson

Mark Cuban and Dallas are in the market for a coach again. Dallas fired Avery Johnson today -- one day after his team was knocked out of the NBA playoffs by New Orleans.

With last night's loss, Dallas has now failed to advance past the first round of the playoffs for two years in a row.

And apparently, that was more than Dallas owner Mark Cuban could stand.

So Johnson, who was named NBA Coach of the Year after he led Dallas to the NBA Finals in 2006, was let go. If Johnson's rise was meteoric, his fall was almost equally as dramatic:

"Johnson was named coach of the year in 2006 and took the Mavericks to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. The Mavericks went up 2-0 before Miami won four straight to take the series.

In 2007, the Mavericks became the first No. 1 seed to lose in the first round of the playoffs in the best-of-seven format. Dallas had won a franchise-record 67 games before being eliminated by Golden State last spring. Those playoff heartbreaks, in addition to the disappointment against New Orleans, led to Johnson's dismissal."

(Hat Tip: Dallas Morning News).

More:

Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News writes that Avery Johnson lost control of the team before the playoffs started. But he says that changing coaches won't be a cure-all for Dallas. Cowlishaw thinks that Dallas has attitude problems, and suggests that several personnel changes must be made in the off season:

"Bring in Jeff Van Gundy, keep Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd (you don't have any choice about that one at $21 million) and get rid of anybody else you choose to get rid of.

Van Gundy was less than a raging success in Houston, but he got Tracy McGrady to play defense and he had that team on the brink of a nice upset of Dallas three years ago even if the Rockets failed in the seventh game.

He doesn't just talk defense, he gets people to play it. And as we have seen from the vacations that the Mavericks, Suns and Nuggets are now free to pursue, defense matters."

NBA Teams Stock Up on Veterans

P.J. Brown is back in the league. Yesterday, the 6' 11", 240 pound Brown (who had previously been out of the league this season) signed with the Celtics.

Brown attributes his decision to play for the Celtics to the urging of Paul Pierce and Ray Allen:

"They just pulled me over and said, 'Man, we'd really love to have you on the team,' " said Brown before last night's game against the Cavaliers. " 'With your experience, we think you can help our young guys and add some stability to our team. As a player, we still think you can play. Your defense and rebounding fits in with what we're trying to do."

And P.J. Brown isn't the only veteran big man who has caught on with a playoff bound NBA team in the last couple of days. Jamaal Magloire just joined the Dallas Mavericks.

According to the 6'11", 265 lb. Magloire, the decision to go to Dallas was easy:

"I've admired the team and the organization," he said. "I had a chance to come here and jumped at the opportunity. I've worked tremendously hard, even not playing in New Jersey. I'd be the first one in and the last one to leave and I hope I'm able to show that out on the court.

"Everything pointed in the right direction. There were other teams, but I thought this was the best fit. What also made the decision easy is this is a team that does have an opportunity to win a title. And to be a part of that is special."

And the Detroit Pistons are looking into the possibility of bringing back veteran forward Dale Davis:

"Former Piston Dale Davis could re-sign with the Pistons as early as Thursday, according to his agent.

"We're in pretty serious talks with them," said Chubby Wells, Davis' agent. "We hope to have something done soon."

Davis needs to sign with a team by the end of this week in order to be eligible for the playoff roster.

"He'll be signed in time for that," Wells said."

Every year, playoff bound teams look to add playoff tested veterans, especially big men. Don't be surprised to see a few more late additions to teams before playoff rosters have to be set.


On A Side Note:

Isiah Thomas has indicated that Stephon Marbury may have played his last game as a Knick. According to the New York Daily News, Thomas told reporters:

"Going into next season, we're still going to need another guard," Thomas said. "There's certain things that Nate (Robinson) and Jamal (Crawford) are extremely good at, but to have them do it for 48 minutes a night, you still need a third guard to kind of come in and help with some ball-handling and do some other things. And Fred (Jones) has done a good job. But we need to get better back there."

When asked if Marbury could be that guard, a suddenly nervous Thomas replied: "Let's talk about the Bobcats. Can I get a question about the Bobcats?"

Marbury is out for the season after undergoing ankle surgery. But Isiah has told him to stay away from the team:

"Marbury, who has appeared in just 24 games, decided to have season-ending ankle surgery last month. He no longer attends games and, according to one team source, Thomas has told Marbury to stay away.

Marbury will earn $22 million next season, his final year under contract."

Not that Marbury is likely to be too upset about not having to play for the rest of the season. After all, since he's recovering from ankle surgery, he's probably enjoying having a legitimate excuse for hanging around the crib all day, high on drugs (prescription painkillers, of course).

Aww hell, who are we kidding? It's not like Marbury actually needs Vicodin or Oxycontin. That cat smokes more weed than Snoop Dogg.

Stephon Marbury is one of the most perpetually blazed dudes in the league.

Check out this video of an obviously baked Marbury appearing on the local sports show, "Mike'd Up," on NBC Channel 4 in New York.

The video is kind of long (about 9 minutes), but it's well worth watching it all the way through. The weed seems to kick in harder as the interview unfolds. By the 5 minute mark, he's clearly losing it. By the 8 minute mark, he's really, really fkuced up.

But the most amazing part of the video isn't Marbury's obvious altered state, but rather the amazing professionalism displayed by the show's host (especially when confronted by Marbury's erratic behavior near the end of the segment).