Luka Doncic, Rick Carlisle’s Fractured Relationship Details Revealed

The beef between Luka Doncic and his former Coach Rick Carlisle is coming to light.

New details about their fractured relationship have been revealed.

Via ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, Doncic became particularly unhappy with the way Carlisle would treat Mavericks players and executives.

“One situation cited by MacMahon was Carlisle’s “apparent determination to make” Dennis Smith Jr. “miserable” when he was in Dallas

“Multiple players were shocked during one early-season team meeting when Carlisle accused Smith of being jealous of Doncic, sources said. The players considered it incredibly unfair to Smith, who wasn’t playing well but was making an honest effort to mesh with Doncic on the court.”

One unnamed player on the 2018-19 Mavericks roster told MacMahon that Doncic “hated how Rick treated other people.”

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The dissolution of the Luka Doncic-Rick Carlisle relationship, and what comes next for the Mavericks https://t.co/Hfp2SIyAzQ #Mavs pic.twitter.com/aF4jv7Hx7i

— ESPNDallas (@ESPNDallas) December 15, 2021

Dennis Smith jr., who was traded to the New York Knicks as part of the package for Kristaps Porzingis in Jan. 2019, chimed in on MacMahon’s report on Twitter:

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This article about my time there is spot on. And that’s coming from staff members n players! Y’all don’t even know the half. https://t.co/9gh2DI4xPu

— Dennis Smith Jr. (@Dennis1SmithJr) December 15, 2021

Doncic openly questioned Carlisle’s authority with the Mavs:

“‘Who’s in charge—you or Bob?’ Doncic barked on his way back to the bench during an early-season game. He was referring to then-Mavs director of quantitative research Haralabos ‘Bob’ Voulgaris, whose rise in power played a role in Dallas’ front-office dysfunction and who many players believed dictated lineups and rotation decisions to Carlisle. Carlisle relied heavily on Voulgaris’ data but always had final say, team sources said.”

If you can’t get along with the star player, nine out of ten times the team will choose the player over the coach, especially one of Luka’s caliber.

Dallas currently has  a 14-13 record so far in Jason Kidd’s first season with the team.

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