On the list of things I expected to see on the NBA’s opening day, a general manager being on the outs would have been very low, but that’s where we find ourselves in Dallas.
Just filed to ESPN: Mavericks and recent front-office addition Gersson Rosas are parting company after just three-plus months. More to come
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) October 29, 2013
ESPN’s Marc Stein, in addition to the Tweet above, wrote this in the story accompanying the news:
"Sources briefed on the situation told ESPN.com that the abrupt parting was triggered by the fact that Rosas — hired by the Mavericks to work in support of longtime president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson — wanted a greater share of control over Dallas’ basketball operations. Concerns about how Rosas would fit into the Mavericks’ front-office structure and accept a supplementary role to Nelson, sources said, surfaced almost immediately after Rosas’ arrival in late July."
This seems like a good, old fashioned power struggle of the highest order, but it does bring about a serious question. How in the world did this not get clarified during the interview process!? It is easy to make fun of this type of malfunction, but I frankly can’t comprehend how the “job description” wasn’t made clear previously, especially when Rosas revealed (in a prepared statement) that the decision to leave was “made solely” by him.
I’m not sure how the Mavs will proceed following this separation, as it is undoubtedly a black mark when evaluating new candidates. Former GM and current president Donnie Nelson clearly has no intent of moving on (despite the title change), and that should rapidly dwindle the interested pool of qualified candidates.
Dallas takes on the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday in their season opener, but there will be a bit of a black cloud over the festivities.