It's obvious Avery didn't like the trade. He gave Kidd all the situations Harris was used to doing. Nonetheless, his lovefest with Stackhouse was sickening.
No dismissing his happiness
AVERY JOHNSON Relieved to be fired
By Marc J. Spears Globe Staff / October 19
For the first time in more than 20 years, Avery Johnson is not an NBA coach or player. So why is he smiling?
Discuss
After a very successful but difficult coaching stint in Dallas, Johnson was relieved to be fired May 2. He is now spending more time with his wife and two teenage children in Houston than he has in years. And ESPN announced last Thursday that it has hired the "Little General" as an NBA studio analyst.
"I kind of felt my time was possibly going to be up with Dallas toward the end of my coaching stint," said Johnson. "You start seeing some signs, so I just knew my time would be up. You kind of start losing your smile a little bit. So a guy [at my country club] was recently mentioning that I got my smile back and it's good to see it back on my face.
"[The firing] was tough, but it was necessary. In terms of direction, we weren't going to be on the same page."
Johnson compiled a stellar 194-70 record with the Mavericks from 2004-08. He was Coach of the Year in 2006 after leading Dallas to the Finals, but he received much of the blame after a 2-0 lead was blown and they lost to Miami. He was also the fastest coach to reach 150 wins.
It was no secret that the intense Johnson often butted heads with outspoken owner Mark Cuban. NBA sources say Johnson would have been OK with Mavs star Dirk Nowitzki being dealt to the Lakers for Kobe Bryant or the Timberwolves for Kevin Garnett, but Cuban wasn't. Cuban's hands-on approach and vocal nature toward the referees also were challenging for Johnson to deal with.
According to NBA sources, Johnson would have preferred that the team be kept intact with young point guard Devin Harris last season rather than trading for veteran Jason Kidd. But the trade was made, and the Mavericks went a disappointing 16-13 with Kidd and were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs.
"We had a heck of a run," Johnson said. "It's well-do ented that we did more in 3 1/2 years than a lot of organizations. It's nothing to be ashamed about. We got after it for 3 1/2 years.
"We had some disappointing moments, but we had moments with win streaks, going to the Finals, MVPs, and guys going to the All-Star team and just selling out night after night and getting into championship talk.
"The organization had never really been in real championship talk. And obviously, there is a price to pay if you don't win it all or you don't make it to the Finals. But it was just exciting to be a part of that, and I'll be forever grateful for the organization for giving me that opportunity."Continued...
http://www.boston.com/sports/basketb...his_happiness/
It's obvious Avery didn't like the trade. He gave Kidd all the situations Harris was used to doing. Nonetheless, his lovefest with Stackhouse was sickening.
I said it would be dirk or aj
it was aj
NBA sources say Johnson would have been OK with Mavs star Dirk Nowitzki being dealt to the Lakers for Kobe Bryant or the Timberwolves for Kevin Garnett, but Cuban wasn't.Sounds like AJ should have been GM. He curbstomped Cuban on all three accounts.According to NBA sources, Johnson would have preferred that the team be kept intact with young point guard Devin Harris last season rather than trading for veteran Jason Kidd.
I'd be relieved to make a load of money while doing nothing too.
Probably. It's obvious coaching isn't his forte.
Yeah and Rick Carlisle is Phil Jackson![]()
Who said that? I realize you have wet dreams about Avery taking over pop's position when he quits, and you'll be sorely dissapointed.
And yeah, Carlisle > Avery
Avery lobbied hard for the Kidd trade and then washed his hands of the results after it was apparent that it was not a good move. And the Lakers were never willing to deal Kobe for Dirk. It doesn't take a genius to be in favor of that move.
Guess who else is relieved that he was given a pink slip? The entire Mavs organization and its fans.
So he was willing to trade Dirk and he didn't want Kidd. True? Maybe he should have been GM.
Really? The coach that took you all the way to the NBA Finals?
Let's see Carlisle pull out that one.
Exactly. That's Avery the politician talking again and the contradictory personality that is him. He was ABSOLUTELY leading the charge for the Kidd trade. He rode Devin Harris' ass every day the kid was in a Mavs uniform. Complained to the media that Harris wasn't developing fast enough for his taste. Then politicked to move him out . Funny thing is, Harris was in the midst of his best statistical season when he left. Then he gets Kidd on board and what does he do? Alienates him by sitting him out the last few minutes of a tight ball game. Forces him to run a slow down, set offense.
I've said all along that AJ is full of . This is another in a long list of reasons why.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's the same coach that started Devan George in game 1 against GS because he his pants in fear of Don Nelson.
"According to NBA sources, Johnson would have preferred that the team be kept intact with young point guard Devin Harris last season rather than trading for veteran Jason Kidd. But the trade was made, and the Mavericks went a disappointing 16-13 with Kidd and were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs"
And he was right. That trade made no sense as Kidd is like 70% maybe of what he was in his prime. The Mavs were not a team ready to win it all when they brought Kidd on. They had holes, Kidd did little to plug them up.
Then what was with the reports in Dallas that Avery and Cuban got in a fight with Avery defending harris?
All you dallasians need to get on the same page with your stories.
The Bottom line in Dallas is, Cuban thinks he knows more about Basketball than his coaches. He is what Steinbrenner was in his prime with the Yanks. Al Davis may be old but he still thinks he knows it all. Cuban will make every coach miserable until that changes.
good one, fat
It's gonna be ing funny when Avery takes over the spurs and makes every single player on the team hate him and rather be traded than play for him.
And how easy is it for a coach to be thrown under a bus when your owner has his hand in everythinig and cuts his coaches legs off when it comes to authority?
So Cuban put a sticky note in everyone's locker telling them to hate him because he micromanaged everything while he was the coach?
It's pretty funny how Avery goes from being Benedict Arnold to a Saint because he's no longer the coach of the Mavericks.
Who cares if the players didn't like him? What is he their Daddy or Girlfriend? Most of the Yankees hated Billy Martin but they won championships. You think Bill Parcells made tons of player friends as a coach? The dude was a ing hard-ass. Show up do your job. The problem is Cubans, relationship with the team sees to it the players don't respect the coach like they should. They just run to Cuban to about things
come on man. you can see it coming everytime you spew garbage like that.
its like saying
wade>lebron
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