Jim Cleamons is out and Don Nelson will soon be in as coach of the Dallas Mavericks.
Cleamons was fired today after the Mavericks lost 12 of their last 13 games. He is the first NBA coach to lose his job this season.Assistant coach Charlie Parker will coach the team tonight against the New York Knicks. Then Nelson, a three-time NBA coach of the year and the sixth-winningest coach in league history, will take over the NBA's worst team of the 1990s on Saturday when the Mavericks play Houston in the first regular-season game in Mexico.
Cleamons, whose overall record with Dallas was 28-70, received a four-year, $5 million contract when he was hired in May 1996 to become a head coach for the first time.
Nelson had been lobbying for Cleamons' dismissal for months and owner Ross Perot Jr. finally agreed. Nelson has said all along that he didn't want to coach, but Perot apparently has made the final decision.
A news conference was scheduled for 7 p.m. EST.
Nelson overhauled the roster since being hired in February, stocking it with players best suited for his up-tempo style and not Cleamons' slow, methodical offense. With Nelson returning to the bench, the players will finally be allowed to run.