Editing Dallas Mavericks (section)

====2007–2008: The return of Jason Kidd====
{{Main|2007–08 Dallas Mavericks season}}
[[File: Jason Kidd drives Feb 24 2008.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Kidd drives to the basket during a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.]]
The Mavericks dealt [[Devin Harris]], two first-round picks, and others to the [[New Jersey Nets]] for veteran all-star [[Jason Kidd]] and other role players; Cuban also tried to acquire [[Kevin Garnett]] without success. The Mavericks were 3–11 against winning teams since the trade and lost Nowitzki for a little over a week due to a high ankle sprain injury. He returned April 2 in a crucial game against the [[2008–09 Golden State Warriors season|Golden State Warriors]] in a 111–86 Mavericks victory and helped defeat the [[2008–09 Phoenix Suns season|Phoenix Suns]] in a 105–98 win on April 6. Dallas' win in Phoenix was especially significant because the Mavs had been nearly unable to defeat a contending team on the road the entire season. Continuing their playoff push, Dirk hit a crucial three-pointer with 0.9 seconds left, beating the [[2008–09 Utah Jazz season|Utah Jazz]] 97–94 on April 10. This victory guaranteed them a playoff spot and their eighth consecutive 50-win season. The Mavericks ended the season with a record of 51–31. In the first round of the playoffs, the Mavericks were eliminated by the New Orleans Hornets 4–1 on the road, 99–94.

Just one day after a disappointing season ended, Avery Johnson was dismissed as head coach of the Dallas Mavericks. On May 9, 2008, [[Rick Carlisle]] was hired as the head coach.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/050308dnspomavs.c4fc389e.html |title=Dallas Mavericks, Carlisle seem to like potential match – Dallas Mavericks News – Sports News – Dallas Morning News |access-date=May 5, 2013 |archive-date=October 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081028172607/http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/050308dnspomavs.c4fc389e.html |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/050808dnspomavslede.da0f12fa.html |title=Deal with Dallas Mavericks, Carlisle could come today – WFAA.com – Sports: Basketball: Mavericks |access-date=May 9, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108022515/http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/050808dnspomavslede.da0f12fa.html |archive-date=January 8, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/nba/news/story?id=3389463 |title=Mavs give Carlisle a four-year deal as coach |date=May 10, 2008 |publisher=ESPN |access-date=June 30, 2015 |archive-date=October 23, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023024057/http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3389463 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Mavs sign Carlisle">{{Cite web |url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jl2w-wzycOVHOI8JdZ8VAB4dLbVw |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514114056/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jl2w-wzycOVHOI8JdZ8VAB4dLbVw |url-status=dead |title=Mavericks reach four-year coaching deal with Carlisle |archive-date=May 14, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |title=MAVERICKS: Official release: Rick Carlisle named coach |url=http://www.nba.com/mavericks/news/Carlisle_signs051008.html |website=Mavs.com |publisher=NBA Media Ventures, LLC |date=May 9, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514120414/http://www.nba.com/mavericks/news/Carlisle_signs051008.html |archive-date=May 14, 2008 |access-date=August 16, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>