Donnie Nelson out as Mavericks GM amid mounting offseason drama

Donnie Nelson out as Mavericks GM amid mounting offseason drama

What’s going on in Dallas?

Two days after buzz about drama in the front office, the Mavericks have parted ways with GM Donnie Nelson, the team confirmed on Wednesday.

Nelson, who has nearly four decades of NBA experience, spent 24 years in Dallas after joining the team on Jan. 2, 1998.

“I just want to thank Donnie for his 24 years of service to this organization,” Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said in a statement released by the team.

“Donnie has been instrumental to our success and helped bring a championship to Dallas. His hard work, creativity and vision made him a pioneer,” he continued. “Donnie will always be a part of the Mavs family and I wish him all the best.”

Nelson, the son of former Mavs coach Don Nelson, served as an assistant general manager and assistant coach in Dallas before he was promoted to president of basketball operations. He’s widely credited for bringing future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki to the franchise in 1998, as well as the acquisition of Slovenian star Luka Doncic following a draft-night trade with the Hawks.

President & GM Donnie Nelson of the Dallas MavericksThe Mavericks’ offseason of upheaval continued with Donnie Nelson’s firing on Wednesday.Getty Images

The breakup followed the Mavericks’ first-round playoff elimination to the Clippers. Despite the early exit, Cuban said Rick Carlisle would return to coach for a 14th season in Dallas.

Earlier this week, a separate report by The Athletic claimed there’s a brewing rift between the 22-year-old Doncic and Haralabos Voulgaris, the team’s director of quantitative research and development, who was hired in Oct. 2018.

The majority of front-office decisions in Dallas — including lineups and rotations — went through Voulgaris, according to the report, which added that Doncic is wary about his future with the Mavericks because of Voulgaris.

Voulgaris declined to comment to The Athletic. Cuban did respond, however, calling the report “total bulls–t” on Twitter.

“I pay close attention to what Luka says, what the front office, analytics group and our scouts say. What Rick says. The idea that there is a shadow GM is laughable. The idea that anyone but Rick sets rotations is insulting,” Cuban told Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks.

Doncic, who finished sixth in MVP voting this season, is eligible to sign a super-max extension worth more than $200 million over five seasons with Dallas on Aug. 6. 

It’s unclear if Nelson’s firing is related to the reported Doncic-Voulgaris tension.