UNDER THE BUS

 In March 2005, upon his hiring as head coach, Avery Johnson – with equal parts humility and power –promised that if he didn’t lead the Mavs to a title in the coming years, he “wouldn’t have to be fired’’ because he would resign. That humility is gone. That power should be. That title never came. The dismissal now must.

"This is tough for me," said Avery after Tuesday’s playoff dismissal in New Orleans as he sidestepped a question about his job security.  "Obviously this is where I was bornand raised. " Yes, that is an important note, Avery. All the time, money, blood and sweat invested in the Dallas Mavericks, by owner, staff, players and fans. … but what the 4-1 loss to the Hornets is REALLY about is the fact that you grew up there. 

     To those who read this space, it is not a newsflash that Avery is tip-toeing toward the unemployment line. We’ve spent the year chronicling how his approach has devolved from inspirational preacher/teacher to obnoxious Napoleonic know-it-all, from General Johnson to Captain Queeg. Because of Avery’s well-documented positives – he is a man of faith, a self-made basketball hero, helped get Dallas to some of its greatest pinnacles  and even to this day, is admired by the players who have tired of his relentless hectoring – make this diffcult. The many examples of slippage – most of them never before reported -- have been painful for DallasBasketball.com to watch and to report.

    DEL’S DEPARTURE: You first read about Del Harris’ semi-retirement a year ago in this space. Now know this: Del sits in a luxury suite at Mavs games and serves as a consultant to the owner in large part because Avery forcefully decided he no longer needed the once-valued guidance of the man the inexperienced coach used to refer to as  “Professor.’’

      NEVER CONTRADICT AVERY!: Avery’s close friend Joe Prunty earned sympathy from players after an incident in Detroit this year when the head coach excitedly called the wrong play in the huddle (no problem, it happens) and Prunty attempted to correct him. Johnson’s viciously profane directive to Prunty to “never’’ contradict him again caused players to alarmingly notice Avery’s sensitive ego.

  ‘AVERY’S TEAM’: Mark Cuban’s March 18 post-game meeting with Avery over the use of players in a home loss to the Lakers was well within the rights of the owner, and certainly not uncommon in Dallas. It wasn’t even an act of unhappiness with the coach, as evidenced by Cuban’s ensuing donning of an “Avery’s Team’’ T-shirt. Avery didn’t discuss the issue as if the owner was his boss, or even his co-worker; Avery discussed the issue loudly, defensively, and illogically.

     THE ORIGIN OF BROKESTACK MOUNTAIN: Avery’s choice of which players would be his “pets’’ and which would be in his “doghouse’’ was once thought to be the result of his knowledge of psychology. We now believe it was more about which players stood up to the coach’s screaming and which did not. The feisty Jerry Stackhouse made it clear more than two years ago that he would not; we are told Stack was inches away from a physical altercation with the badgering coach before he was pulled away by teammates. And the next thing you know, Avery is a “Stack guy.’’ (And yes, Mavs fans, that is the genesis of Avery’s BrokeStack Mountain love for his veteran.) Avery and Stack are respectful friends. But Stack not taking Avery’s crap is part of how they got that way.

     ‘WE DON’T HAVE ANY LEADERS’: One of Avery’s training-camp themes was about how the Mavs “don’t have any leaders,’’ and that Avery is therefore the sole leader. This was, at the very least, an irritant to his veteran players. At at most, a stinging insult. In fact, the empty platitudes from the cartoon character we came to call “Cliché’vry Johnson’’ were empty to some of his players, even the many who love him.

     MEDIA-ALLY WHISPERING: In what is either a clumsy political attempt to gain PR clout or just something clumsy, period, Johnson had made a habit of whispering to media confidants about the shortcomings of his stars. It’s bad form, it’s disloyal, and it is difficult to keep that sort of thing from caroming back in one’s face. Jason Kidd has definitely been a victim of this (intentional or not) back-stabbing. Dirk Nowitzki has probably been a victim of it. The phrase "thrown under the bus'' become trite in DB.com readers' circles, but it was accurate enough.

     WHERE’S WESTPHAL?: Paul Westphal was brought here this year to help with the offense. Insiders suggest that Westphal has been allowed to make virtually no changes in Dallas’ attack.

     CREDIT AND BLAME: Avery has an annoying habit of taking credit for the successes and deflecting blame to the players upon failure. When speaking of Dirk’s success, for instance, Avery’s comments were about how well Avery had guided Dirk. And when asked what Avery could do better during a tough time in the postseason, Johnson was sarcastic is saying he’s accept all blame, but then added a “but’’ and went on to say it’s about the players performing at a higher level.

       ‘AVERY’S SYSTEM’: Another important example to some staffers: Avery tells anyone who will listen about his “system.’’ In fact, the “Mavs System’’ – while obviously influenced by three-plus years of Avery’s thoughts -- is the result of 40 years of labor by Don Nelson, Del Harris and others, endorsed by Cuban and Don Nelson, and by now a component in the teachings of most NBA and college coaches. It is not “Avery’s System’’ because there is in fact no such thing as “Avery’s System.’’

     RE-WIRING: Avery’s attempts to make Dirk “more Duncan-like’’ (a phrase used derisively by Mavs staffers) and to “re-wire’’ Kidd (Kidd’s own words) speak to the coach’s mindset: Mold star athletes around the coach’s style and strengths, rather than molding the coach around the star athletes’ style and strengths.

    ‘WE LOVE AVERY, BUT. …’: This quote from one chuckling veteran: “We love Avery. But 80 percent of the time, we have no idea what he’s trying to do.’’

     THE ONE-VOICE POLICY: We are told that at one point during the season Avery became so irritated at the number of assistants who were offering ideas to players during practice that the head coach instituted a “one-voice’’ policy. And that the “one voice’’ was to be, of course, Avery’s.

    THE PLAYERS-ONLY BLOWUP: Any one of those could be a justifiable last straw. But then came this week’s players-only practice, and the apparent blowup that preceded it.

    As DallasBasketball.com initially reported, Josh Howard had scheduled a birthday party for Sunday night, after Game 4 against the Hornets. This was not news to us, this was not news to our readers, this was not news to listeners of “urban’’ radio. … but it was apparently news to “The General,’’ who prides himself on his relationships and communications with his players.

     Howard, very much in the spotlight last weekend thanks to his public pronouncements of Reefer Madness, should’ve been the most important member of the Mavs to receive guidance and attention. How, given the circumstance, could the team let this goofball escape over the wall? Instead, we understand that Avery learned of details of the party (likely attended by a handful of teammates) too late, and that his reaction contributed to his angry decision to cancel Monday’s potentially final practice of the season. (Note: Some gossip has it that Avery knew about the party in advance and ordered it be cancelled. Neither version of the story makes Avery appear to be a respected boss in charge of his employees.)

    Howard screwed up. Again.

    Avery blew up. Again.

     The players decided to practice on their own (imagine an NFL team not practicing before the Super Bowl because its coach was bothered!). And Avery’s comments that afternoon about the session were dismissive.

    “We're in a situation right now where I don't know if we need another drill,’’ he said.

    “Dismissive’’? “Pouty’’? The exact opposite of “communication’’ and “leadership’’ and “motivation’’? You (and Mark Cuban) be the judge.

     Please note that none of the aforementioned items even approach being about X’s-and-O’s, about benching Kidd in the final seconds of the loss at San Antonio, about Avery’s assemblage of thirty-something “pets’’ who on a whole made few contributions to one of the worst overall seasons experienced in the highly-successful Cuban Era. None of them are even about wins and losses, the recent 3-12 playoff record, for instance  – even though Avery struggles in all these areas.

     No, these complaints are about dealing with people, about motivation, about relationships, about communication.

    Avery Johnson’s 2006 Coach of the Year trophy casts a large shadow. Paired with his ego, that shadow has wilted all those areas that were once his blossoming strengths.

    So is Avery a bad apple? Are his players a spoiled bushel?

    No, and no.

    It is so important to remind the reader that the players’ inability or unwillingness to follow their leader is in part the fault of a coach who has not developed in those areas. But it is also the result of human nature. In coaching history, smart organizations replace an avuncular-style coach with a taskmaster, and then replace the taskmaster with an avuncular guy. (See Jimmy Johnson being replaced by Barry Switzer, and then later, Bill Parcells being replaced by Wade Phillips.) Under the avuncular guy, discipline eventually slips, and it’s time for a taskmaster. After four or five years (according to Jimmy) players cannot help but tune out the taskmaster, and it’s time for a cyclical change.

    True story: Old Cowboys linemen Nate Newton and the late Mark Tuinei were telling me all the way back in 1993 – Jimmy’s fifth season, not coincidentally – that during team meetings, the veterans would fall asleep in meetings and skip pep talks altogether. “We’ve heard the same speech every August 17^th for five straight August 17^ths,’’ Tui once told me, adding that the Pro Bowl lineman also passed the time by sitting in the back of meeting rooms with the fellas doodling in the margins of the Cowboys playbook. (I saw the doodles.)

      When did Jimmy leave the Cowboys? After that 1993 season. Why? Contrary to those who think it’s Jerry Jones’ fault, Jimmy left on purpose. He knew the guys were failing to pay attention. He knew they were sick of his voice. He knew that what they had there was. … a failure to communicate.

     He knew.

     Remember? It was his fifth season.

      Now, the question is: Does Avery know?

     Does Avery know that it’s time for the Mavs to negotiate a departure, to wish him well elsewhere, and to begin the contemplation of a long list of candidates?

     By the way, what a long (and very preliminary) list might look like: Mavs assistant Mario Elle, Jeff Van Gundy, Boston assistant Tom Thibodeaux, Detroit’s Flip Saunders, Rick Carlisle, fired Bobcats coach Sam Vincent, Phoenix’ reportedly available Mike D’Antoni  and Washington’s Eddie Jordan, who happens to be a “Kidd guy.’’

    The experienced of those guys might not be available. The young among them might be too Avery-green.

If you believe us when we say this organization believes it provided Avery “the best team we’ve ever had,’’ don’t dismiss the idea of a short-and-quick list: Head coach Paul Westphal, with his suitcase of offensive ideas still unopened, assisted by the suddenly re-respected Del Harris.

    After the Mavs were eliminated, Dirk, Stack and other team leaders could not avoid the obvious question of their coach’s future.

    Said Dirk: “You don't want to say stuff when you're emotional and disappointed. We'll just let this one sit for a while and then obviously, once you don't win it all, once you don't win a championship, you've always got to look at what you have to do to make the franchise better.’’

    Said Stack: “We've had a great run with this group. But when you lose in the first round two years in a row, you expect some changes. We're all hired to be fired at some point. …  They all see the end. … We'll wait and see what the boss (Cuban) does. No matter what happens or what changes are made. … for the last four years, it's been a great situation for everybody that's involved. So if this is the end or whatever, you can't do nothing but say we had our chance. Had our opportunity.’’

     Meanwhile, the passionate Cuban wisely did not engage with reporters.

    Johnson, however, did.

    “Our offseason has started,” Avery said. “We will evaluate everybody and every situation from the coaching staff and the players. (Cuban) and I have great communication and we’ll sit down and talk about it, and see what we need to do to go from here.”

     What we need to do to go from here is apparent. The Mavs season shouldn’t have been all about the coach, but he made it so.  Now the Mavs offseason is all about the coach. And in a way befitting a control freak, he made that so, too.

511am april 30 2008