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Avery Johnson was dismissed as coach of the Dallas Mavericks the day after a disappointing season ended with a first-round playoff exit in New Orleans. Incredible highs and heartbreaking lows marked the tenure of Johnson, who leaves as the most successful coach in franchise history by many measures.
Johnson became the eighth coach in team history on March 19, 2005 and posted a record of 194-70 (.735) during the regular season. He led the Mavs to the playoffs four consecutive years, including a trip to the 2006 NBA Finals. His postseason record of 23-24 (.489) included 12 losses in the last 16 games.
“You’ve got to take the good with the bad,” Johnson said Tuesday night after the 99-94 loss to the Hornets that ended the series. “That is called life. There are a lot of highs and lows in coaching, but the highs outweigh the lows. The rewards outweigh anything.
“I’ve been through much worse. There are a lot of people in bad shape and I am not one of them.”
The search for the ninth coach in club history begins immediately. The next coach takes over a team that could be significantly different from the squad that suffered through an inconsistent 51-31 regular season that earned the seventh seed in the Western Conference.
The 15-man roster features eight potential free agents. Dirk Nowitzki remains the focal point, but the cast of characters surrounding the 2006-07 MVP is expected to undergo major change. Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, Jason Terry, Erick Dampier, Jerry Stackhouse and Brandon Bass are under contract, though Kidd can option out. Johnson’s staff – Paul Westphal, Joe Prunty and Mario Elie – currently remains under contract through next season.
In his first full season as head coach (2005-06), Johnson guided the Mavericks to 60 wins and their first appearance in the NBA Finals. He became the fastest coach to reach 50 wins (62 games), coached the Western Conference All-Star team and was named the NBA’s Coach of the Year.
Johnson led Dallas to a franchise-record 67 wins, the NBA’s best record, the following season. The mark was also the sixth best in league history. Following a 10-0 month of February, Johnson garnered Western Conference Coach of the Month honors, an award he won three times in his career.
This past season, Johnson became the fastest coach in NBA history to reach 150 wins with a victory over Memphis on November 17, 2007. He accomplished that feat in just 191 games.
“It is never easy to relieve a coach of his duties, especially one of Avery’s caliber,” owner Mark Cuban said. “He is a talented coach and I want to thank him for his efforts over the last four years and what he has done for this franchise. We wish him well in the future.”
The Mavs were the first head-coaching opportunity for Johnson, who played 16 years in the NBA before retiring before the 2004-05 season. He joined the staff of former coach Don Nelson and took the coaching reins 64 games into his first season on the bench.
“I would like to thank Avery for his valuable contributions to the Mavericks organization,” president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said. “Over the past four years, he has been an integral part of our team’s success. We wish AJ nothing but the very best in his future endeavors.”
I think Avery's a good coach, but I think everyone can agree that a change was needed there. I think this will be one of those moves where both parties end up better for it, at least in the short term.
Maybe the Suns and Mavs should've just traded coaches?! Haha.
mark cuban is an idiot...its not the coach its the players...kidd is an old sack and didnt help the mavericks like he was suppose to do...they shoulda kept their young up and coming players like harris and diop who made a huge presence for them in the past. if cuban was smart and he knew he was gonna fire johnson he shoulda called larry brown before M.J. did and aquired him as the mavs headcoach instead of the bobcats
Too BAd for both parties, Avery Jonhson is a players coach and I expect he will be back in coaching next year. If not a head coach at least as a assistant coach, good thng is that he can be picky on the offers.
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AJ had to go. He failed to incorporate Kidd into the team, but that's not only his fault. That tends to happen when you get a big star as a new member on a team with a different style more than halfway into the season. Same thing happened in Phoenix.
OT: Any word on if D'Antoni's getting the axe? I like the guy but maybe things just aren't working out between him and Phoenix? Not as much bad blood as between Cuban and AJ, though.
mark cuban is an idiot...its not the coach its the players...kidd is an old sack and didnt help the mavericks like he was suppose to do...they shoulda kept their young up and coming players like harris and diop who made a huge presence for them in the past. if cuban was smart and he knew he was gonna fire johnson he shoulda called larry brown before M.J. did and aquired him as the mavs headcoach instead of the bobcats
no he is wrong.
he should've said the team wasn't good enough to get out of the 1st round.
haha. Yah, if you wanna be more specific. I feel for him, but yet, I don't for the Mavs' sake. They're gonna need a lot of changes to compete in the West next year with all these young, fast, and talented teams coming up. I think a big man down to help Dampier with rebounding and low-post presence, and a slasher type player like how Finley and Eddie Jones were. Also, they need to stay away from the "watching the Dirk shoot jump shots all night".
On Dantoni, for such a good coach he can't develop a bench and after four years he still can't figure out how to manage his 2nd lineup after Nash goes out.
If someone convinces this guy to start playing his bench more, get Nash some rest during the season and pick up another quick long defender at the 3 to back up Grant "They call me Mr. Glass" Hill, they're still one of the most efficient teams in the West.
That is, if they can figure out how not to turn the ball with 2 mins left in the game.
Avery Johnson Fired
