On December 16, Beijing time, ESPN reporter Tim McMahon reported the real reason for the breakdown in the relationship between Doncic and Carlisle, which was not because of Carlisle's attitude toward Doncic, but because Carlisle's attitude towards Doncic's teammates made the young man unhappy.
At the 2018 draft, Doncic came to the Lone Ranger as a flower scout, and he became good friends with Dennis Smith Jr., another young guard in the team at the time. A year ago, the Lone Ranger selected Smith Jr. with a no. 9 sign, and he became Doncic's guide in the city, living in the same apartment and playing video games together for hours. The two smiled and took a group photo together on Media Day, becoming the new backcourt group.
However, Carlisle is not optimistic about the combination, mainly because he is not optimistic that Smith Jr. can become an efficient NBA starting guard. Carlisle had hoped the Lone Ranger had chosen Mitchell and was very unhappy with Smith Jr.'s rookie season.
Sources revealed that at a team meeting early in the season, Carlisle accused Smith Jr. of being jealous of Doncic, and several players were surprised. The players felt it was unfair to Smith Jr., who, while not playing well, struggled to work with Doncic on the pitch. Doncic was unhappy with Carlisle's attempts to pit him against his teammates.
In June, Carlisle officially resigned and left Dallas. Doncic declined to comment for most of the time, saying only a few words when he beat the Grizzlies a week ago: "He (Carlisle) brought a championship to Dallas and everyone respected him." "It's more of a polite remark.
So far in his career, Doncic has played 220 games for the Lone Ranger, averaging 25.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game. Carlisle coached the Lone Ranger for 13 seasons, 555 wins and 478 losses in the regular season and 33 wins and 38 losses in the playoffs.