The Dallas Mavericks are reportedly on the verge of re-signing coach Rick Carlisle to a five year extension. It was smart of them to do it before the season—which may try Rick's patience—and smart of them to do in general.
Carlisle is, without question, the best coach in Mavericks history and I often wonder what the Dirk years could have been like if they'd gotten him on board earlier. I kind of think everything had to happen the way it did---Don Nelson letting Dirk be Dirk, and Avery forcing him to expand his comfort zone—but Rick is a better Xs and Os guys than either of those two were at anything. And that's giving Don Nelson more credit than many people do. The guy didn't just fall down and win the most games in NBA history.
So to that extent it's a big relief. I had worried that the Mavericks' offseason failures, and Dirk's likely retirement in the next few years, might make Carlisle unwilling to stick around, and of course, he won't necessarily finish out his contract here. But it means he's on board for the project the Mavericks have ongoing. That's good news both for the team as a team and for those of us who wonder whether the project, which most of us don't get much insight into, makes sense to smart basketball people.
What it means for this season is less clear. Carlisle was signed on for that one anyway and while some coaches might pull out the stops to try to win, at the expense of development, during a contract year, Carlisle doesn't seem like that kind of guy. But, with more rookies, and more young talent than a typical Maverick campaign, it was always going to be an interesting year for a coach who tends to rely on veterans.
I'll be particularly interested to see what Carlisle does at the end of close games. He has bigger challenges, like finding ways to rebound and managing Dirk's minutes, but in the last few years, for better or worse, he's tended to put the ball in the hands of guys like Vince Carter and Monta Ellis over Dirk, presumably because of their ability to drive, shoot, or pass. Can Parsons or Wes Matthews fill that role? If not, what will Carlisle do for a team that tends to win close, when they win?
In the last few years, Carlisle's brilliance has been most evident in putting up stiff fights in playoff series where the Mavs were in some ways wildly outmatched, from the Thunder to the Spurs to the Rockets. This year will be a greater challenge still, and I look forward to seeing him work his magic here and for years to come.
When Andrew Tobolowsky isn't dreaming of a future with Rick Carlisle, he's probably playing with his dog or teaching grad students in the Ivy League. Don't act like you're not impressed - and follow him on Twitter at @Andytobo
