According to Carlisle, Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson envisioned as much well before Dallas acquired Doncic in a 2018 NBA draft-night trade that sent Trae Young to Atlanta. “Donnie told me flat out he was going to be the best in that draft, and it wasn’t close,” Carlisle said. “That’s how he felt about it. We’re thrilled that we’ve had the chance to get him to Dallas and work with him. He’s worked hard. Each week he’s gotten better and better and better and going forward, I’m watching his workload closely, his minutes, those kinds of things. It’s important that we look out for him, too.”
Rick Carlisle Rumors
Tim MacMahon: Rick Carlisle refers to Gordon Hayward’s struggles last year and success now as an example of the process that Kristaps Porzingis is going through. “I’m not saying it’s going to take that long for KP, but what I am saying is we’ve all got to manage expectations for this.”
Brad Townsend: Carlisle, asked 48 hours later by @MFollowill about the biggest teaching point from Lakers loss: “Hopefully the officials call an obvious foul on the other team at the end. That’s the first thing. Other than that, I was proud of the way our guys competed.”
Coach Rick Carlisle agreed with his team’s 20-year-old star. “I was upset, too, but I’m not going to spend 50 grand to criticize,” Carlisle said. “It just doesn’t make sense. These are hard games. I don’t know what else to say. They’re hard games, and they’re very emotional. It’s tough. It’s tough when you think you’re getting hit and the whistle’s not blowing.”
