Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 11/6/15

The Mavericks and head coach Rick Carlisle reached an agreement Thursday on a five-year, $35MM contract extension that will keep him in Dallas through the 2021/22 campaign. Carlisle will first finish out his current deal covering both this season as well as 2016/17, which is a team option. “We are excited to retain Coach Carlisle in the Mavericks family,” owner Mark Cuban said in the team’s official release. “He is a championship-caliber coach that has made this organization better on and off the court.

The 56-year-old is the president of the NBA Coaches Association and is widely respected around the league. Carlisle led the Mavs to the NBA title in 2011 and has been with the franchise since May 2008, making him the third longest-tenured head coach in the NBA. He won Coach of the Year honors for the Pistons in 2002, which was his first season as an NBA coach. Carlisle led Detroit to back-to-back 50-win seasons before beginning a four-year tenure with the Pacers. He’s 619-431 over 13 full seasons as an NBA head coach, and he owns a 57-58 postseason record. For Dallas, he’s gone 338-220 in the regular season and 27-26 in the playoffs.

That is quite a solid résumé for Carlisle, and it’s one that would likely garner considerable interest around the NBA if he were to suddenly become unemployed or hit the open market. Carlisle is obviously happy being a part of the Mavericks organization, and judging by the average annual value of his new extension, the franchise reciprocates that feeling. But is remaining in Dallas with a team that is clearly in a rebuilding phase and will eventually need to forge ahead without franchise stalwart Dirk Nowitzki, who at 37 years old is nearing the end of his Hall-of-Fame career, a smart move for the coach?

This brings me to the topic for today: Was signing an extension with the Mavericks the right move for Rick Carlisle, or should he have waited to see the state of the roster in 2017/18, the first year his extension kicks in, prior to signing on for five more seasons?

Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the matter. We look forward to what you have to say.

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