Avery Johnson fired

[n0s_speed]

Mavericks fire Avery Johnson after another playoff flop
By JAIME ARON, AP Sports Writer
3 hours, 42 minutes ago

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More NBA Videos DALLAS (AP)—From the start, Avery Johnson was a perfect fit as coach of the Dallas Mavericks.

At the end, it was pretty obvious he wasn’t.

Johnson lost his job Wednesday, a move the team referred to as “relieving him of his duties.” The softer tone made sense considering that in three-plus seasons Johnson guided the Mavericks to the finals for the first time and to a club-record 67 wins the following season.

Yet for all the high points, there were some serious lows—blowing a 2-0 lead in those finals, getting dumped in the first round of the playoffs after that 67-win season and then, the final straw, getting knocked out in the first round again this season after Dallas shook up its roster and mortgaged some of its future to acquire Jason Kidd.

Over those three straight postseason wipeouts, the Mavericks lost 12 of 15 games, including all nine on the road.

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“Was it time for a change? I guess,” said Dirk Nowitzki, who became the league MVP under Johnson’s watch. “I think this franchise, we owe him a lot. Unfortunately it’s just one of those situations where everybody’s got to move on.”

The final mark during Johnson’s tenure: 194-70 in the regular season, 23-24 in the playoffs.

Johnson got the news during a meeting at his condominium Wednesday morning. Donnie Nelson, the team’s president of basketball operations, was there, while team owner Mark Cuban joined via cell phone from Chicago.

Johnson flew to Houston soon after because his son had an accident at school. He will meet with reporters Thursday, but called in to the local ESPN affiliate, KESN, to talk about his dismissal.

“This is something that needed to happen,” Johnson said. “There’s no animosity or bitterness. We all still really care about each other, but it was time to go in a different direction. … We didn’t win the championship, but if you look at the whole body of work that we put together over the last 3 1/2 years … we’ll put it up against anybody.”

Johnson might not be unemployed very long. The New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls are among the teams needing coaches, and both might want a young, proven coach who preaches defense and discipline.

What will Cuban do?

It’s hard to guess because he’s never really hired anyone, inheriting Don Nelson when he bought the team and then agreeing with Nelson to groom Johnson.

Paul Westphal was on Johnson’s staff and Del Harris remains on the payroll as a consultant. Jeff Van Gundy and Rick Carlisle are other experienced coaches who could be interested, if Cuban is. Phoenix’s Mike D’Antoni also would be an intriguing option if he loses his job.

Whoever takes over will get a roster of expensive, aging players. The Mavs need to get younger and more athletic, but don’t have a first-round pick or much room under the salary cap.

But Dallas does have two commodities that any coach would love to have: Nowitzki and Kidd.


Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzk…

AP - Apr 30, 6:37 pm EDT
While Nowitzki turns 30 this summer and Kidd just turned 35, both are coming off All-Star seasons. Kidd has a player option for next season, but it’s for $21 million, more than he’d get on the open market.

“It’s not at the point of pulling the plug on this,” Kidd said. “I think we have a chance to be very successful, so I look forward to the challenge next year.”

Cuban certainly will ask all candidates how they will get the most out of Kidd, something Johnson struggled to do.

The Mavs were 35-18 before giving up young point guard Devin Harris and a package of players and picks for Kidd. They went 16-13 after he arrived—17-17 counting the playoffs.

“We probably could have opened it up a little more, have a little more free flow, let Jason create and not just make him a weakside spot-up shooter,” Nowitzki said. “But, you know, Avery had us believing in the system, and that’s the way he thought we could be the most efficient.”


Dallas Mavericks' Josh Howard …

AP - Apr 30, 6:36 pm EDT
Nowitzki hopes the next coach retains at least some of Johnson’s emphasis on defense.

“You don’t basically want to go back to the Nellie days where we just run and gun and have fun, and you get scored on every time down,” Nowitzki said.

Nelson turned the Mavericks from lottery regulars to playoff regulars, then to title contenders. He just couldn’t get them to the finals.

Johnson did.

A championship-winning point guard for San Antonio during his long career, Johnson became Dallas’ coach-in-waiting in 2004-05. His wait ended just a few months later. He finished that regular season 16-2, then won his first playoff series. Then, in his first full season in charge, the Mavericks reached the NBA finals and Johnson was named coach of the year.

When the Heat won four straight after losing the first two, there was talk of Pat Riley outcoaching Johnson and of Johnson panicking during the series by switching hotels in Miami. More talk of getting outcoached came up after the 67-win season went down in flames to, of all people, Nelson.


Dallas Mavericks coach Avery J…

AP - Apr 30, 6:27 pm EDT
The knock this time was mostly over his use of Kidd. He and Cuban even had a shouting match in the coach’s office following a home loss to the Lakers.

Johnson’s rift with his club was apparent during the five-game series against the New Orleans Hornets.

Down 2-0, he said to blame him, but it came off as sarcastic because he added it was his fault the players were missing layups, free throws and defensive assignments. Then, after losing Game 4, Johnson canceled an off-day practice, but the players went through a workout anyway—without the coaches.

Now, those players will be answering to a new coach.

“We’re just at a stumbling block, at a standstill,” Jason Terry said. “I guess management’s going to take a look at us and see what pieces we need and see where we go from here. … You know they’re going to make some moves, there’s no doubt. But the backcourt looks solid and you’ve got the big German. That’s not a bad place to start.”

oh that sucks. i really thought he did a great job. before he came to the mav, the mavs were nothing. now, they became a threat in the west.

[duckdog]

I agree. Good coach. Just didn't win the title.

[n0s_speed]

whoever fired him, probably the owner, is a biatch to me. they should be happy the mavs made it to the playoffs. the west coast conference was a tough battle to stay in the playoffs. lose one game you drop 2 standings win one you move up 2, etc. also, the mavs won 50wins the regular seasons. compare to the east conference, 5 of the teams didn't even win 50games.

NBA.com

[duckdog]

Yeah, Willie, I agree. Cuban is an idiot. All he wants is the title. Some team will do very well hiring AJ, he won't be unemployed long.

[djbme83]

i don't know if i totally agree with you dave. i don't think cuban is an idiot. he just wants results and the mavs haven't produced when it counted. cuban is definitely excentric but i think he knows what he's doing.

johnson will definitely be picked up somewhere, hopefully with a young upcoming team, and get results.

[duckdog]

Originally Posted by djbme83

i don't know if i totally agree with you dave. i don't think cuban is an idiot. he just wants results and the mavs haven't produced when it counted. cuban is definitely excentric but i think he knows what he's doing.

johnson will definitely be picked up somewhere, hopefully with a young upcoming team, and get results.

On further reflection, you are right, DJ.

Idiots don't become billionaires.

Can we possibly say that Cuban is obsessed with winning the championship and his team being a dynasty?

[djbme83]

Originally Posted by duckdog

On further reflection, you are right, DJ.

Idiots don't become billionaires.

Can we possibly say that Cuban is obsessed with winning the championship and his team being a dynasty?

agreed

[n0s_speed]

this just proves how good he is.

On March 19, 2005, Don Nelson resigned as head coach of the Mavericks and Avery Johnson was named the eighth coach in the history of the franchise. Johnson finished the season with a 16-2 mark and was named Western Conference Coach of the Month for April after guiding the Mavericks to their highest win total for that month in team history (10-1 mark).
He was also named Western Conference Coach of the Month in November of 2005, becoming the first coach in league history to win the award in his first two full months of coaching. Johnson picked up the award again in January 2006 and was later named NBA Coach of the Year for 2005-06.

Johnson won 66 of his first 82 games, which was four more wins than any other coach in league history had through 82 games. He was also the fastest coach to reach the 50-win mark (62 games) and coached the Western Conference in the 2006 All-Star game. Last season, Johnson guided Dallas to a franchise-high tying 60 wins and its first appearance in the NBA Finals.

Johnson began the 2004-05 season as an assistant coach after retiring as a player on October 28, 2004. In 16 NBA seasons, he averaged 8.4 points, 5.5 assists, 1.7 rebounds and 25.3 minutes played in 1,054 career games.

On March, 28 2003 as a member of the Mavericks, Johnson became the 75th player in league history to play 1,000 career games. At 5-11, he joined Calvin Murphy as the only other player under 6-feet in height to reach that milestone.

Known as “The Little General” for his on-court leadership and diminutive stature, Johnson helped guide the San Antonio Spurs to an NBA Championship in 1999. He is still the Spurs’ all-time leader in assists and ranks 28th in NBA history in that same category.

Johnson played his final two collegiate seasons at Southern University in New Orleans. In addition to leading the NCAA in assists in each of his two years at Southern, Johnson was also named the Southwestern Athletic Conference Player of the Year and the MVP of the conference tournament as both a junior and senior. He still owns several NCAA Division I records, including most assists in a single game, the highest single season assist average and the highest career assist average.

Despite his numerous amateur accolades, Johnson was not selected in the 1988 NBA Draft. He started his professional career playing with the Palm Beach Stingrays of the United States Basketball League before signing as a free agent with the Seattle Supersonics on August 2, 1988.

Johnson changed teams six times during his first six seasons in the NBA. It wasn’t until his fourth different stint with San Antonio in 1994-95 that he was able to finally settle down. Johnson stayed with the Spurs through the end of the 2000-01 season before signing as a free-agent with Denver on August 19, 2001.

The Mavericks originally acquired Johnson in a mid-season trade with Denver on February 21, 2002. Over one-and-a-half seasons with Dallas, Johnson appeared in 65 regular season games and helped the team by assisting the coaching staff during the 2002 and 2003 playoffs.

In the summer of 2003, Johnson was part of an eight-player trade between Dallas and Golden State. After playing the 2003-04 season with the Warriors, Johnson signed with the Mavericks as a free agent on September 9, 2004.

Johnson married his wife Cassandra in July of 1991 in New Orleans. They have two children, Christianne and Avery Jr. He has a strong passion for men’s ministry, and financially and spiritually supports many church programs in New Orleans, Houston and Dallas. His motivational speeches are in high demand at churches and schools across the nation. In October 2005, he was co-host of the Katrina Rescue Ride to benefit the Salvation Army and the Red Cross’ relief efforts of the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Johnson serves as a member of the board of directors of Project Turn Around, a faith based organization dedicated to address the social needs of urban youth and their families in the Dallas area. He also serves as member of the board of directors of Hunger Busters, an organization dedicated to bring a freshly made meal with compassion to hungry and homeless people on the streets of Dallas.