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Nelson to return as Mavs' coach
Posted: Thursday May 18, 2000 04:45 PM
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - Don Nelson is expected to return next season as Dallas Mavericks coach. Team owner Mark Cuban has talked to Nelson about returning, but details have not been finalized, Mavericks spokesman Greg Elkin said today. Nelson has coached 22 seasons in the NBA, but has never taken a team to the NBA Finals. "If I thought there was someone better out there, I would tell him so and we would go after them," Cuban told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "But I don't believe there is." Cuban said the Mavericks' top players -- Michael Finley and Dirk Nowitzki -- want Nelson to return. The Mavericks won 16 of their final 21 games last season, and had the NBA's best record in April at 9-1. They finished 40-42, their best record since 1989-90, when they were 47-35. "I expect this team to improve, and I expect us to make it to the playoffs," Cuban said. Previously, Nelson said the Mavericks' April 19 game against Minnesota was his final one as a coach and that he wanted to return only as general manager. Cuban told the paper that he was impressed with Nelson's performance in the second half of the season. He said he expects to have a business relationship with Nelson "for a long, long, long, long time." "Nellie has been my partner in this effort," Cuban said. "It's important to me that he gets the chance to build upon last season's success. "Nellie is a Hall of Famer, and he deserves the same respect and reverence I give the players. More importantly, I think he is an incredible coach, and the players want him back."
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