Avery on ESPN Radio....

[kaorder1999]

Grateful for being given the chance to work for the Mavs....

Ive never been in a position like this as a coach before...

Im excited about the opportunity I had to work with and for some great people....

[kaorder1999]

I knew t hat after this we would probably be going in a different direction...

Mark has been awesome to my family and just something that needed to be done....

[kaorder1999]

This is something that needed to happen...we are all going to go our separate ways...there is no bitterness...no animosity...we all care about each other but it was just time to go in a different direction

[kaorder1999]

Mark was on the cell phone and Donnie and I were there together meeting....why would anybody be angry with me? (INTERESTING) It was a friendly meeting......

[kaorder1999]

we werent a good enough team to win a championship but did the best we could with what we had....

[kaorder1999]

Did this team ever recover from the Finals collapse?

Avery: we recovered during the regular season last year when we won 67 but werent playing well at the end of the season. We werent as deep as the genius' thought we were. Didnt have good PG play or Center play. The best team we've had since Ive been here is the team that went to the finals.

[kaorder1999]

Next coaching assignment? Have you got a call yet from a team?

Avery: Well, this is my first interview....right now my agent is fielding a few calls and talking to a few people but Im looking forward to getting home and seeing my son, he had an accident at school today and had to be taken off on a stretcher so I would like all to pray for him. That is all im thinking about right now.

[kaorder1999]

Do you coach this year, wait a year?

Just see how everything shakes out. It hasn't been 24 hours yet. I need to sit back and see whats going to happen with my coaches. Im really concerned about them. Im not sure whats going to happen or what my next move is. Right now I just need to relax and take it easy.

[kaorder1999]

what 1 thing would you have done differently?

maybe I woul dhave given Deven Harris the ball a little earlier and started developing him a little earlier. Thats one thought. I think everything that we did I stand behind it and every move was the right move at that particular time. Maybe if it were a half a season earlier I wish I wouldnt have pointed him in the right direction a little earlier

[kaorder1999]

on the Josh Howard party:

Josh has been awefully good to me in my time as a maverick....those guys practiced hard and played hard. Im just moving on. We wish the next coach well. We wish the Mavs well. We wish all our guys well. We had some unfortunate things that happened late in the season. Things I was dissappointed in and totally against.

[crzyjournalist03]

Part that I've found most interesting so far:

On whether the Kidd trade was his decision or Cuban's...he didn't want to "throw mud" at anybody but,

Devin was like a son to me, seriously like a son, and I really believed in him. I wouldn't have had the Mavericks invest as much money, and I definitely wouldn't have invested the time I did with Devin turning him into an All-star calibur player.

[kaorder1999]

Have you heard from any of your players?

I have 25 missed calls cause my phone has been ringing off the hook. Im sure that 7 or 8 of them are from some of the players. I just havent been able to call them back yet

[kaorder1999]

is there somebody you would like to recommend?

I cant recommend anybody. Those men that were on my staff this year, Westphall, Prunty, Ellie, Jones, if Mark wants to keep any of those guys in a head coaching or assistant coaching capacity I would be be in favor of that...

[Txbroadcaster]

Originally posted by crzyjournalist03
Part that I've found most interesting so far:

On whether the Kidd trade was his decision or Cuban's...he didn't want to "throw mud" at anybody but,

Devin was like a son to me, seriously like a son, and I really believed in him. I wouldn't have had the Mavericks invest as much money, and I definitely wouldn't have invested the time I did with Devin turning him into an All-star calibur player.

He is going agianst everything he even said in the past with that comment

[kaorder1999]

Originally posted by crzyjournalist03
Part that I've found most interesting so far:

On whether the Kidd trade was his decision or Cuban's...he didn't want to "throw mud" at anybody but,

Devin was like a son to me, seriously like a son, and I really believed in him. I wouldn't have had the Mavericks invest as much money, and I definitely wouldn't have invested the time I did with Devin turning him into an All-star calibur player.
i missed that part...had to go pee

[crzyjournalist03]

Originally posted by Txbroadcaster
He is going agianst everything he even said in the past with that comment

what do you mean by that?

[Txbroadcaster]

Originally posted by crzyjournalist03
what do you mean by that?

Well even earlier in this interview he said last year the PG play was bad

He admitted he had taken control of offense from Devin and did not trust him to run the O...Yet now he acts lke..wait I thought Devin was amazing and was best option

[crzyjournalist03]

Originally posted by Txbroadcaster
Well even earlier in this interview he said last year the PG play was bad

He admitted he had taken control of offense from Devin and did not trust him to run the O...Yet now he acts lke..wait I thought Devin was amazing and was best option

Well, the PG comments were in reference to Jason Terry and Jason Kidd...I can tell you for a fact that Avery hated Jason Terry (I'll provide sources in a PM if you're interested). Avery wanted to hand the offense over to Devin last year, and really wanted to do it again this year, but with the team struggling, he felt he needed to hang onto the reins a little tight.

If you look at what Harris was doing just before he got injured though, that kind of lines up with what Avery said, because Harris was playing his best basketball as a Maverick. Avery basically said without saying that he thinks the team would have been better off having not made the trade this year.

[Txbroadcaster]

Originally posted by crzyjournalist03
Well, the PG comments were in reference to Jason Terry and Jason Kidd...I can tell you for a fact that Avery hated Jason Terry (I'll provide sources in a PM if you're interested). Avery wanted to hand the offense over to Devin last year, and really wanted to do it again this year, but with the team struggling, he felt he needed to hang onto the reins a little tight.

If you look at what Harris was doing just before he got injured though, that kind of lines up with what Avery said, because Harris was playing his best basketball as a Maverick. Avery basically said without saying that he thinks the team would have been better off having not made the trade this year.

no he was talking about last year..Read the quote again

Avery: we recovered during the regular season last year when we won 67 but werent playing well at the end of the season. We werent as deep as the genius' thought we were. Didnt have good PG play or Center play. The best team we've had since Ive been here is the team that went to the finals.

and again most sources say Avery was pushing for a PG change..not saying hewanted Kidd, but saying Devin was not the PG he wanted

[kaorder1999]

Marc Stein from ESPN reporting that the Bulls are making a run at Avery....

[crzyjournalist03]

Originally posted by Txbroadcaster
no he was talking about last year..Read the quote again

Avery: we recovered during the regular season last year when we won 67 but werent playing well at the end of the season. We werent as deep as the genius' thought we were. Didnt have good PG play or Center play. The best team we've had since Ive been here is the team that went to the finals.

and again most sources say Avery was pushing for a PG change..not saying hewanted Kidd, but saying Devin was not the PG he wanted

He wanted to groom Harris, and that comment was directed at Jet, who started almost all of the games that year. Avery couldn't stand Jason Terry.

Reports can say lots of things, and as Avery pointed out, most of it is pure speculation. The most logical story that I've heard that would line up with what has happened since is that Dirk really wanted a star point guard because he was still pissed about his buddy Nash leaving. He went to Cuban, and Cuban was somewhat on board with it, convinced Avery of it reluctantly, and Avery towed the company line.

That's why the meeting today was so friendly. Avery pointed out that nobody in the organization could have a reason to be upset with him (read: he didn't really want Kidd) because he wasn't what went wrong with the team.

[kaorder1999]

well...guess its time for me to go home!

[kaorder1999]

Stein saying it could be Flip Saunders, D'Antoni, two successful vetern offensive minded coaches...that replace avery

[Emerson1]

Del Harris!

[crzyjournalist03]

Originally posted by Emerson1
Del Harris!

Why are you so high on Harris?

[Emerson1]

Originally posted by crzyjournalist03
Why are you so high on Harris?
Why not? He has a history of success. All the international teams seem to want him for their coach.

From the NBA.com profile:
"In three of the last four seasons, he has been voted as the top assistant coach in the league in the annual General Manager’s poll."

Was CotY in '95 and has led a team to the finals.

[kaorder1999]

i like Harris but remember Avery was a Coach of the Year and led THIS team to the Finals...

[Emerson1]

Originally posted by kaorder1999
i like Harris but remember Avery was a Coach of the Year and led THIS team to the Finals...
He also led them to first round exits 3/4 years.

The team was no longer responding to Avery and his micro-managing, that is when you know you need a change. He is the only coach in the league you see up off the bench every play shouting out a play, you wouldn't even know Phil Jackson was there is he wasn't 9 feet tall. Pop is the same way

I don't get why people are so high on him. He led a team Don Nelson built to one good playoff run. He has absolutely NO coaching experience prior to this tenure. People at like he is a veteran coach who had a big career before this

[big daddy russ]

Originally posted by crzyjournalist03
Why are you so high on Harris?
Got a bad shake in LA. His last team was broomed by the Spurs squad that the frontline of David Robinson one year out of his prime, Tim Duncan, and Sean Elliott. There was no shame in that, especially when one of your team leaders was only 20 years old.

Harris also guided the '95 squad that was led by the fearsome trio of Vlade Divac, Nick Van Exel, and Cedric Ceballos to 53 wins.