He brought two franchise-altering players to the team – Dirk Nowitzki and Luka Doncic – hired long-time head coach Rick Carlisle, and built the 2011 NBA Championship roster.
But on Wednesday – two days after The Athletic reported tensions in the Mavs’ front office – the team and its long-time General Manager and President of Basketball Operations Donnie Nelson “mutually agreed to part ways.” There are reports that the decision was made prior to the article being released.
Nelson arrived in Dallas on Jan. 2, 1998 and recently completed his 24th season with the franchise.
“I just want to thank Donnie for his 24 years of service to this organization,” owner Mark Cuban said in a statement. “Donnie has been instrumental to our success and helped bring a championship to Dallas.
“His hard work, creativity and vision made him a pioneer. Donnie will always be a part of the Mavs family and I wish him all the best.”
During his tenure, the Mavericks have made the playoffs in 17 of the last 21 seasons, been to the Western Conference Finals three times, advanced to the NBA Finals twice, captured three division titles (2007, 2010, 2021) and won their first World Championship in 2011.
Since Nelson joined the franchise the Mavericks have won 58.0% (1,087 of 1,873) of their games with three 60+ win seasons, including a franchise-record 67-win season in 2007, which tied for the sixth-best record in NBA history.
Nelson worked for the Mavericks for 24 seasons, serving as an assistant general manager and assistant coach before being promoted to president of basketball operations. Per ESPN, Nelson has been “widely credited for scouting and pushing for the two biggest acquisitions in Mavericks history: the draft-day trades for Dirk Nowitzki and Luka Doncic 20 years apart.”
The two franchise players only played together one season before Nowitzki retired in 2019. Doncic and the Mavs lost earlier this month to the LA Clippers in the first round of the playoffs for the second consecutive year.
Per Tim McMahon of ESPN, a source said the Mavs hired Mike Forde’s Sportsology, a consulting firm frequently used by teams hiring general managers, to assist in the search for a new head of basketball operations.
News Around the NBA:
Nelson’s departure was just one of the breaking news stories coming from the NBA on Wednesday:
- Phoenix Suns star point guard Chris Paul entered the NBA health and safety protocols for Covid-19 and is sidelined for an indefinite period of time, first reported by Sham Charania of The Athletic. Phoenix is waiting for the start of the Western Conference finals, where it will face the winner of the Jazz-Clippers series, which is tied 2-2.
- Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard is expected to miss Game 5 with a right knee injury and could be out indefinitely as the team fears an ACL injury per reports.
- Washington Wizards’ head coach Scott Brooks and New Orleans Pelican’s head coach Stan Van Gundy were both let go today.
- Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball won the Rookie of the Year award.
