Rick Carlisle inherits an aging roster and one outspoken young player as the new head coach of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. But the Lisbon Central graduate believes he can find a way.
Carlisle, announced as coach by the Mavericks on May 9, was formally introduced by Mavericks owner Mark Cuban at a press conference in Dallas.
"I think he embodies all the good things that the Mavs are looking to accomplish," Cuban said. "Hard work, ingenuity, creativity, and all the good thinks we like."
Carlisle succeeds Avery Johnson and immediately acknowledged what Johnson had accomplished with the organization as well as the expectations everyone has for the team.
"When you get into this position, it's about excellence and doing your best," he said. "It's about coming in first."
Carlisle has some work to do with the current Mavericks roster, which consists of two stars past their prime and only one notable younger name in Josh Howard, who's 28. He didn't give any set strategies to address the age of his new team, but was nevertheless full of confidence.
"Never underestimate the pride of veteran players," he said. "I just feel like we're going to find a way where we're going to do better than people think."
His main plan of action is to use 35-year-old Jason Kidd as the catalyst for sparking a faster-paced offense. This style of offense is new for the Mavericks, who have spent the last three seasons under Johnson's half-court minded approach.
"When you play with Jason Kidd, you've got to open up the floor and allow him to push it up," Carlisle said.
He added that Kidd will have the extra responsibility of running the offense on the floor and that, if needed, Carlisle will be there to help with the play-calling.
"When I've got a point guard that can run a team, I let him run the team," he said. "I see Jason as a guy that can run a team. He's one of the great winners in the history of the game."
Some of the downside of an up-tempo offense is keeping the players fresh. Carlisle's plan for solving that problem is simply keeping his team in supreme shape.
"Our wing guys are going to have to get in condition to really run," he said. "JT (Jason Terry), Josh Howard and these guys are going to have to get in great shape because if you're going to play at a faster tempo offensively, there's an unbelievable physical commitment. They're going to find out that playing faster and with momentum is a lot of work."
Howard, who made noise two weeks ago by admitting to using marijuana in the off-season and was a persistent roster problem last year, is a player Carlisle plans to speak with about his future role with the team.
"My first message to him is 'we need him,'" he said. "He needs to get back to Western Conference all-star caliber play. He's got to be a guy that can do a lot of everything for us."
Carlisle's first test will come when training camp starts in the fall, a time when he says he'll really start seeing what he has to work with and will push for stamina and speed from all the players.
"This next training camp is going to be absolutely critical to how we proceed forward," he said. "This is one of the crucial periods of Mark's ownership. We're going to have to get it right and we will."
Carlisle has the background to do it. He's was the 2001-02 NBA Coach of the Year award recipient and spent time as a player in the mid-1980s and won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 1986.
He has coached six seasons in the NBA from 2001-07 before taking this past season off to work as an analyst with ESPN. He said his time with the sports network only made his desire to return to the NBA greater.
"The guys at ESPN were really great to me," he said. "(But) the opportunity to step away from the game, it gives you a chance to re-energize."
Carlisle returns to coaching with a career 281-211 record and five playoff appearances. He was let go in 2007 after failing to make the playoffs with the Indiana Pacers.
