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Posted on Thu, May. 08, 2008

Cuban has an opportunity he can't afford to let pass

By RANDY GALLOWAY

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Before Mark Cuban does anything stupid -- I'm not being redundant here -- there's one final suggestion that will save him the embarrassment of trying to explain Rick Carlisle.

Go back to Donnie. Make a deal Donnie Nelson cannot refuse this time. Little Nellie turned down the head coaching job last week. I blame Cuban for that, and Dirk, too.

Dirk wants Donnie. Cuban wants Donnie.

Don't men of wealth and power always get what they want? Well, why not this time?

Since Avery Johnson's departure last week, local media rip jobs, particularly in this newspaper, have told us Avery had to go because he did or didn't do this, this and this.

Take that same list of this, this and this, apply them to the NBA coaching career of Carlisle, and this guy makes Avery look as loose and cool as Big Nellie. If you are going to change out a head coach, at least do something drastically different when it comes to personality and philosophy.

Or maybe wait on Coach Pop in San Antonio to be fired Monday once the New Orleans Hornets sweep his Spurs by Sunday. OK, it's a joke. But watching those Spurs get Big Easy chain-sawed in the first two games of that series suggests a much better team ousted the Mavs this time. Ya think?

The truth is, Avery is now in a better place. He's not here. He needed to go. The Mavs needed him to go.

But what about the theory that you hire Carlisle simply because he wants the job, and because the slate of potential candidates is very limited? Ridiculous.

First, anyone who now measures the future of the Mavs against what the Western Conference has become, and still campaigns to work here, then you know he definitely needs a paycheck.

That's what I like the most about Donnie as the next head coach. He was smart enough NOT to want the job. Nobody knows the Mavs better than him. He works here.

Granted, there are those who blame Little Nellie for the franchise's fall from elite status, right along with Avery and Cuban. And that criticism is valid. As president of basketball operations, it is Donnie's job to secure talent, one way or the other, but mainly through the draft or Europe.

About January of this season, the West exploded with better teams who had better talent. The Mavs are now looking at a long line of conference taillights, and that's not going to change anytime soon.

But when a team strings together this many 50-plus win seasons, the drafting odds become limited. Donnie also didn't find the Euro hot shot. But trades? Over the years, either his dad and Cuban, or Avery and Cuban, handled the deals and the free-agent signings.

I'm not giving Donnie a pass. I'm just saying consider all the circumstances.

Now, as a head coach, who knows? But when he served as Big Nellie's assistant, Donnie had his opportunities to sit in the big chair and manage games alone. He has Dad's offensive philosophy, but he's much more defensive-minded.

More than anything, Donnie has Don's personality, and obviously, Avery's hard-driving ways did become an issue here.

But just because he said no last week, did Donnie really mean no?

I talked to him about that. It sounded like he meant it.

But in one last shot, Cuban can offer an open-ended coaching contract, with the stipulation that once Donnie wants off the bench, he is guaranteed the long-term right to return to his current job.

There's also the thought Cuban might have already put something like that on the table, and was rejected.

If so, then, Mark, you know the drill. Stack the money higher. Donnie is no different than the rest of us here in America. The higher the stack, the more the interest level grows.

Cuban wants Donnie. Dirk wants Donnie.

And Rick bleeping Carlisle is about to be hired?

C'mon, Mark. You're better than that.

Randy Galloway can be heard 3-6 p.m. weekdays on Galloway & Co. on ESPN/103.3 FM.