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Moving on Nelson to focus solely on GM duties next season
Posted: Thursday January 06, 2000 02:03 PM
DALLAS (AP) -- Mavericks coach-general manager Don Nelson will drop his coaching duties next season and focus on managing the team, he announced Wednesday. Nelson met with the Mavericks' owner-to-be, Mark Cuban for two hours to discuss his future with the frachise. "It was a great meeting, just great," Nelson told The Dallas Morning News. "I told Mark I'd do anything if he asked me, but that I didn't think it was a good idea for the franchise or for me to coach after this season." Nelson, a former Milwaukee Bucks coach, also recommended that his son, Mavericks assistant coach Donnie Nelson, not be considered as his replacement. Nelson became the Mavericks' general manager on Feb. 7, 1997, and Donnie Nelson was hired as a Mavericks assistant coach on Jan. 2, 1998. The elder Nelson initially was grooming his son to become the next Mavericks head coach. "[Donnie] may be a head coach somewhere else someday, but it's just not right for him to be a head coach here," Nelson said. "At one time we thought it was, but Donnie is very open and very comfortable to working here in any capacity." The Mavericks have managed just a 44-103 record (.427) since Don Nelson added coaching duties to his GM title in December 1997. "I feel very secure at this particular time," Nelson told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "But if somebody wants to make a change, then, you know, that's part of life. "I'd love to stay here and do the job I was brought in to do, which is be the general manager. If that doesn't work and Mark decides to make any change in that area, that's fine, too. I want to see the franchise succeed." Cuban, who signed a letter of intent Monday to purchase a majority stake in the Mavericks from Ross Perot Jr. for $280 million, had a similar meeting Tuesday night with Mavericks team president Terdema Ussery. "He's extremely passionate about basketball and the Mavericks," Ussery said. "This is just an exciting time for the franchise and the city."
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