AROUND the NBA: Pat Bev Suspended 4 Games Next Season| PHX Fires Vogel

[omahen]

I also think him and Luka didn't always see eye to eye. Is it true Luka would sometimes go against what Rick wanted, like changing play calls and such?  I think Rick as talented as he is , eventually got annoyed with coaching him and wanted out.

Nah. I think Rick was smart enough to recognize his days with Mavs are over and he left on his own terms. Mavs were also preparing for a change and were happy with the outcome. Remember all the "Rick is an asshole" stuff and many takes how (allegedly) players didn't want to come to Dallas because of him. I remember some active players made that claim. 

Don't get me wrong. I respect Carlisle as a coach, I think he is a very good one. I also always appreciated that he publicly never threw players under the bus after losses, unlike some other coach we know. Publicly, he always took the blame. I am sure they had all kinds of different conversations behind closed doors, but this is imho how things should be handled. 

From what was reported, the problem between Luka and Carlisle was exclusively in personal relationship. Two things were reported - Luka didn't appreciate how he treated some of his teammates (Mejri was mentioned) and that "the gambler" interfered with coaching decisions. I am sure Carlisle could say a thing or two about Luka, but we don't know if some of Lukas reactions were just a consequence of the things that (really) bothered him and had little to do with actual coaching. All of that doesn't mean Carlisle is a bad coach or Luka is uncoachable.  It takes two to argue and sometimes some people just don't fit on a personal level. Best solution going forward was "a divorce". Divorces can be messy (see Donnie), but this one was handled pretty solid, imho.