There’s been some drama in Dallas following the season, with all kinds of speculation about Luka Doncic and his feelings about signing with the organization long term. Then you had both Donnie Nelson and Rick Carlisle leaving the organization, signaling the Mark Cuban was getting serious about making any changes necessary to make Luka happy.

Now we have Dirk Nowitzki joining the organization to help with the transition, which probably helps with the Luka situation.

We all know Luka will probably stay, but Cuban isn’t taking any chances.

Jason Whitlock heaps praise on on Rick Carlisle for his coaching in Game 4:

He did crazy (stuff). He inserted J.J. Barea into the starting lineup. Barea has been a nightmare in the Finals. He can’t finish at the rim. He can’t knock down open perimeter shots. He left his game in the Western Conference playoffs.

Carlisle went with Barea to change his rotation and rest Shawn Marion. With Barea in the lineup, DeShawn Stevenson would come off the bench and defend Wade or LeBron James.

Carlisle also tied Peja Stojakovic to the bench. Peja left his shot in Los Angeles. The few minutes Carlisle would have wasted on Peja, he gave to Brian Cardinal. Well, at least “The Custodian” didn’t turn the ball over and escort a Heat offensive player to the rim.

The Barea and Cardinal moves didn’t really pan out. That’s fine. Down 2-1 and with Dirk sick, a coach has to try something.

And Carlisle did find minutes for Stevenson. In Dallas’ two victories, Stevenson has played a combined 48 minutes. In Dallas’ two losses, Stevenson has played 29 minutes. Stevenson played 26 minutes Tuesday. He knocked down three 3-pointers. He played solid defense on James and Wade.

Where Carlisle really made his mark Tuesday was in the fourth quarter, when he mixed in some zone defense. The Heat scored only 14 points in the final 12 minutes. The zone slowed Wade’s penetration, and it masked Nowitzki’s exhaustion.

Carlisle coached a masterpiece.

Carlisle definitely deserves some credit as Dallas came up big last night. But this is a crafty, veteran team that never gives up, and that, along with LeBron’s Houdini act, had just as much to do with the outcome.

On the eve of opening training camp, it didn’t take long for Dallas Mavericks star forward Dirk Nowitzki to give his views on former coach Avery Johnson’s handling of last years’ team.

In an interview with the Dallas Morning News, Nowitzki felt Johnson’s regimented style and lack of offensive creativity were the chief reasons for the Mavericks troubled 2007-08 season. He was optimistic the offense would open up with the acquisition of Jason Kidd from New Jersey, but it never materialized down the home stretch of the regular season.

Nowitzki is excited about playing for new coach Rick Carlisle, as the two have communicated over the summer about implementing a uptempo offense for this coming season. He was noncommittal on his plans after his contract expires in the 2010-11 season.