The Dallas Mavericks fell to the Los Angeles Clippers in the first-round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Seeing their season come to an end in consecutive years in roughly the same fashion has started to wear on various members of the organization.
One particularly frustrated party?
Team star, Luka Doncic.
Doncic’s beef with teammate Kristaps Porzingis is a matter of public record at this juncture.
But he isn’t the lone member of the Mavericks family Doncic dislikes.
According to Tim Cato and Sam Amick of The Athletic, Haralabos Voulgaris has become something of a “shadow GM” for the Mavericks. This is problematic because “multiple team sources” are now worried about Doncic’s long-term future with the organization as a result of Voulgaris’ outsized influence.
Friction between the pair was on display in February when Doncic “snapped” at Haralabos and said, “Don’t f–king tell me to calm down.”
Then in April Doncic reportedly told teammates Voulgaris was “quitting on them”
For obvious reasons, this has led many to speculate that perhaps Doncic’s time in Dallas may come to an end sooner than expected if Voulgaris doesn’t end up exiting.
Doncic isn’t the only person whose status with the Mavericks is in doubt, though.
According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, head coach Rick Carlisle has his ‘eye’ on a potential coaching opportunity with the Milwaukee Bucks.
“Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle is another longtime coach who’s been rumored to have an eye on Milwaukee’s potential opening,” he wrote.
“Dallas owner Mark Cuban publicly backed Carlisle as the Mavericks head coach following their series-ending loss to the [Los Angeles] Clippers, but that would not prevent the Bucks from requesting permission to speak with him.
“Although Milwaukee assistants Ham and Lee would be expected to garner strong consideration as well, sources with knowledge of the situation told B/R.”
The Bucks owner’s daughter decided to bring 2021 in with a bang by stripping all her clothes off. https://t.co/UgzhEEna4o
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 7, 2021
Carlisle has been with the Mavericks since 2008, is the winningest coach in franchise history with 555 regular-season victories, and led them to their lone championship in 2011.
That said, Carlisle’s status explains recent reports about Mike Budenholzer.
One way or another, this promises to be an interesting next few months for the Mavericks. There is currently chatter about a big trade floating around that could vastly change the team’s fortunes. But if it doesn’t come to fruition, things could worse before they get better in Dallas.
Related: NBA Rumors: A Big Trade Between Wizards, Mavericks?
A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
