Longtime Dallas Mavericks president and general manager of basketball operations Donnie Nelson is out after 24 seasons with the franchise, the team announced Wednesday.
Sources told ESPN that Nelson's departure comes after internal friction over the growing decision-making influence of Mavericks director of quantitative research and development Haralabos Volgaris.
Sources said Vulgaris, a former professional gambler hired by the Mavs in 2018, reported directly to owner Mark Cuban and communicated directly with coach Rick Carlisle, despite Nelson's objections.
Sources said Nelson's decision to leave the franchise was taken on Sunday.
Nelson, 58, worked for the Mavericks for 24 seasons, serving as an assistant general manager and assistant coach before being promoted to president of basketball operations. He remained Cuba's top basketball executive for years following the sharp departure of his father, Don, the Mavs' head coach and general manager, from 1997 to 2005.
"I just want to thank Donnie for his 24 years of service to this organization," Cuban said in the team's statement. “Donnie has been instrumental in our success and helped bring a championship to Dallas. His hard work, creativity and vision have made him a leader. Donnie will always be a part of the Mavs family and I wish him all the best.” "
Donny Nelson has been widely credited with scouting for and pushing for the two biggest takeovers in Mavericks history: draft-day trades 20 years apart for Dirk Nowitzki and Luka Doncic.
Nelson had strong ties with Europe before joining Mavs. Those paid off almost immediately with Nowitzki, who was a teenager when Nelson began following him in Germany. Dallas made a sixth pick in 1998 and drafted Robert Traylor for Milwaukee, who had a ninth substitute and took 19-year-old Nowitzki for the Mavericks.
After a rough rookie year and missing the playoffs again in his second season, Nowitzki led Dallas to the season after 12 straight years. The Mavericks lost to Dwayne Wade and Miami in the 2006 NBA Finals before defeating LeBron James, Wade and The Heat five years later.
Two decades after targeting Nowitzki, Nelson had Doncic at the top of the Dallas draft board when the rebuilding Mavericks were less than expected in the lottery with a fifth pick. Finding that this was not enough, the club made a trade with the Atlanta Hawks, who wanted Trae Young after their sensational freshman season in Oklahoma. Doncic recently helped Real Madrid win the European Championship.
Nowitzki and Doncic played together before Nowitzki retired. Doncic, 22, has since been a two-time All-Star and first-team All-NBA selection. He is eligible to sign an extension that is expected to be worth a little over $200 million, and strongly suggested that he do so after losing to the LA Clippers in the first round of the playoffs for the second consecutive year.
One source said the Mavericks hired Mike Ford's Sportsology, a consulting firm often used by teams hiring general managers, to assist in the search for a new head of basketball operations. .