Things are shaky in Dallas for the Mavericks right now.
It all started earlier this week with a report from The Athletic’s Tim Cato and Sam Amick that things were going south and relationships between Luka Doncic, Rick Carlisle and the front office had become tumultuous.
At the center of it was Haralabos Voulgaris — a former sports gambler and Mavericks employee who worked in the analytics department of the front office.
The report said Voulgaris was influencing decision-making across the organization including everything from front office moves to lineup changes and rotations.
That reportedly caused a strain on Luka Doncic’s relationship with Carlisle and Carlisle’s relationship with the front office and everything in between.
Mark Cuban called the report total BS — literally.
Warning: There is some NSFW language in this tweet.
Total bullshit https://t.co/vBpYcZTTkI
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) June 14, 2021
Fast forward two days later, longtime Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson leaves.
Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson and the franchise have decided to part ways, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 16, 2021
Fast forward three days later, Rick Carlisle is out as head coach.
Rick Carlisle statement to ESPN: pic.twitter.com/zdKA8sWa4Y
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 17, 2021
Seems pretty obvious, at this point, that there was more to it than what Cuban was letting on. Interesting.
NBA fans absolutely roasted him for his initial denial of turmoil in Dallas.