DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - The man described in a scathing article as the "shadow GM" of the Dallas Mavericks has spoken publicly for the first time since his departure from the organization this summer.
Haralabos "Bob" Voulgaris, the team's former director of quantitative research and development, didn't hold anything back during his appearance with Pablo Torre on the ESPN Daily Podcast, describing the team's front office dysfunction during his tenure as "high school drama."
The most concerning bit from the June article written by Tim Cato of The Athletic was the allegation that Voulgaris upset Mavs guard Luka Doncic, who was in the final year of his rookie contract, when he left his seat in the final minute of a hotly contested home loss to the New York Knicks.
Fans of the team grew concerned that Doncic wasn't long for the organization with Voulgaris' involvement, but that was never going to stop Doncic from signing a supermax contract, which he ultimately did this offseason.
Voulgaris confirmed that he left his seat early but it was something he typically did in order to prepare for his postgame meeting with the coaching staff. He went on to say that didn't realize anything was wrong until he received a phone call from then-Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle that night explaining that Doncic perceived his early departure as him quitting on the team.
"I just went to my desk to look at something on my computer or got up because I normally get up. There are plenty of other instances of me getting up in the middle of the game. I mean, why does it matter? It's not like I went home and started crying because we lost or threw a temper tantrum. I watched the game from my office on the TV.
"It was such a non-event that I didn't think it was a big deal, and the fact that it became a big deal led me to believe that this is just not worth it to me."
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Voulgaris said he informed Carlisle that he no longer wished to be around the team and would continue to work remotely, which he did for the rest of the season. He also made a point to say that he had no problems with Doncic and that his presence was one of the reasons he joined the franchise.
"If I'm distracting that f---ing guy. I don't need to be around," Voulgaris said. "Whatever the case may be, no matter how I see it, it doesn't matter at the end of the day. He is the fulcrum of the team. So I was like, 'Cool.' Plus, I was trying to find a way out of this job to begin with."
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