DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - Just when you thought things couldn't get any crazier in the Mavericks organization ... think again.
Rick Carlisle resigned Thursday as the team's head coach after 13 years in Dallas. His decision comes just a day after Mavs owner Mark Cuban reportedly fired general manager and president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson.
So where do the Mavs go from here?
Mark Cuban has already hired the Sportsology consulting firm to spearhead the search for their next president of basketball operations.
The team's current vice president of basketball operations, Michael Finley, will be among the candidates for the role. Toronto Raptors president and GM Masai Ujiri, whose contract is reportedly up, is another name that has popped over the last 24-48 hours, but it'll cost Cuban a pretty penny to pry him away from Toronto.
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Former Celtics boss Danny Ainge and Pat Riley's protégé in Miami, Shane Battier, could also be among the list of potential candidates.
As for who replaces Carlisle, Mavs assistant coach, Jamahl Mosley, should be at the top of the board, as he has formed a tight bond with all-star guard Luka Doncic.
“He’s got the things that are needed for a head coach," Doncic said after Mosely filled in for Carlilse for the Mavs win over the Knicks this season. "He can be the head coach, for sure.”
Former NBA champion and Dallas Maverick, Jason Kidd, is a hot name for several teams who are looking to hire a new coach this offseason. Might Cuban like to pair the Hall of Fame point guard with another future Hall of Fame point guard?
Former Mavs top assistant Terry Stotts, who was recently let go by the Trail Blazers after they suffered their fourth first-round playoff exit of the past five years, is another familiar name.
Might there be other names that pop up in the coming days? Surely there will be. But not until they find their next president and GM...
According to Cuban, the Mavs will hire a new head of basketball operations before they conduct a coaching search, which sounds like the proper way to go about things. But it feels like this process might take a while to play out, so Mavs fans might need to practice patience here.
That's going to be difficult thing to do considering how wild of a week it's been around here.
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