Mavericks Firing Avery Johnson: Bad Move?

Avery didn't have control of his players. That was very obvious in the playoffs. Cuban made moves that Avery did not agree with (Kidd trade) and that drove a wedge in their relationship, so it was all coming to a boil anyway. We should have kept Devin Harris, I can tell you that. Avery wanted to keep him. He's one of the hottest young point guards in the league and Dallas traded him away for a washed-up old point guard who can't shoot anymore. Of course, the scapegoat is always the coach, but he needed to go anyway. It just wasn't going to work anymore.

You think the lack of control was his fault or Cuban's undermining him?
I guess you can't get rid of Cuban so one of em had to go.
Kinda reminds me of a certain football team I root for.....
i feel your pain, Five.

I like Avery as a coach, but the tension between him and Cuban and then kind of losing control of the team at a critical time just drove the nail in the coffin. A coach doesn't like to be undermined by the owner, but the team just didn't respond all year and it got worse after the Kidd trade. I'm not sure that the players were on board with the trade either.

i just cant see a guard who almost averages a triple double being washed up....i just cant.

i agree with u fiver, he did not have control, i liked devin harris as well, fresh young legs and he could drive an attack and get to the line, which seems to be a the X-factor in playoff bball

Devin Harris wasn't much help in last year's post season....I'm jus sayin....

tru tru

No he wasn't, but he sure could shut Tony Parker down and you see what Parker did to the Suns. Dirk didn't play well against the Warriors last year either. Nobody did. Harris was quick to the basket and a decent defender that Dallas should have kept. They were doing fine against the Western Conference teams before he was traded.

good move! they could do better than him...

With who? No one that is available right now?

There are coaches out there, but not sure any of them are better than what we had. There are rumors that Donnie just may take over if they ask him to. I don't think he really wants the coaching job, but who knows at this point?

The Kidd trade was just a way for the Mavs to keep up with the rest of the Western Conference.
I respect Jason Kidd and he has had a fantastic career, but it's coming to an end and what Mark Cuban did was a selfish move on his part and it will (I guess already has) come back to bite him. Like FIVERINGS said, Devin Harris is one of the hottest young point guards in the league and has a bright future to look forward to, I'm sure he'll only continue to improve. Jason Kidd on the other hand is done. He's not going to get any younger, he's not going to get any better.

Not a smart move on Cubans part.
For Mavs fans sake, hopefully firing Avery wasn't yet another terrible move by Mark Cuban.

Well said, Ms. Britney.

i think im gonna change what i said first after reading britneyrose's comment!
=DD
ahh i can still remember the glory days of mavs(when they entered the finals) and johnson was apart of it..

My guess is they hire someone more Kidd-friendly who will let him run and create more. That said, they never should have traded away Devin Harris, and Avery getting fired is a direct result of that ill-advised move.

You think they're going to hire a coach based on thier 35 year old point guard? That would really be crazy!
I agree w/ you about Devin Harris. Not smart.

They (probably) fired Avery because of him. I think the idea is to do whatever they can to win a title in the next year or two and that largely depends on the effectiveness of Jason Kidd.

i just don't think Kidd has what it takes to carry them to a title.

I agree.

Avery wasn't on board with the Kidd trade. Maybe that contributed also.

Avery needed to leave simply because you can't expect anyone to boss a bunch of millionaires for more than a few years - unless you win a lot. Otherwise, they just stop listening.

It's rare, for sure. There are a few that can do it though. Popovich, Sloan, Jackson. But, those coaches usually have full control and don't get micro-managed by their owners. Makes a difference.

imagine sittin on the bench and having that spaz sit right behind you, commenting and gesturing on your every call, and i like Cuban cept for that

Agreed. I think any coach is going to have to perform one hell of balancing act between Cuban and the players. And unless Cuban and his coach can get on the same page (and Cuban can back off), look for more of the same to come. I also think the dismissal was mutual. I think Avery had had enough. Especially after the incidents with "the smoker" (Barkley classic).

Did Rick Carlisle really get the job? If so, interesting choice for that team. And isn't it crazy that the Kidd and the Mavs got beat by the coach that Kidd supposedly got fired in NJ? Karma.

Yeah........a coach having Chris Paul is definitely a coach that is in heaven. You think Cuban would back off at some point beause the refs hate him and the Mavs don't get any favors when it comes to the free throw line. The players may be getting tired of it, too. I think Dirk had something to say about it last year or the year before.

Well, Avery said that he and Mark Cuban disagreed on the direction of the team in the past. The players already knew that he was gonna get the ax, so that's why I think they lacked a little respect for him down the line. I still think that it was a bad move. It's Mark Cuban's fault that they lost anyway. They gave up waaay too much for Jason Kidd. And I don't think Rick Carlisle is gonna fix anything either...

Carlisle may not be a fix, but at least it's a change that was needed. Carlisle is a good X's and O's type guy, but I don't think he's going to lead the Mavs to the promised land with the players they have now.

Re: Carlisle. I agree. Good temporary fix (it will be interesting to see if he improves on Avery's regular-season win percentage, although I doubt it). But I doubt he is THE answer Cuban and the Mavs are looking for.

people tend to forget that kidd was being regarded as an old guard when he led the nets to the finals twice, dude still has it.....

which is also why Team USA is probably going to win gold also.

WEll, if he still has it, he didn't show much of it here. Maybe having a full offseason and training will help him. Still don't like the deal though.