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Marc Stein talks about coaches moving around the NBATags: NBA, Dallas Mavericks, Chicago Bulls

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NBA Coaching Carousel

Rick Carlisle wasn't just the first candidate to interview for the Dallas Mavericks' four-day-old coaching vacancy.

Carlisle is quickly getting serious consideration from the Mavericks after being flown to Dallas for a second interview, according to NBA coaching sources.

Sources told ESPN.com that Carlisle met with Mavericks president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson on Thursday in Indianapolis and then traveled to Texas on Friday to meet directly with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

One source even described Carlisle as a sudden favorite to succeed Avery Johnson, even though Nelson told The Dallas Morning News in Friday's editions that the Mavs were planning to "show some patience in our search because, after the first round, there could be some very good candidates available."

Cuban, Nelson and Carlisle could not be reached for comment Friday night.

ESPN.com reported Thursday that Nelson was Cuban's first choice to replace Johnson, but club sources say Nelson does not want to leave his personnel post and Cuban will not try to force Nelson to reconsider. In an interview Thursday with ESPN Radio's Dallas affiliate [KESN 103.3 FM], Nelson did not dispute the idea that the job would already be his if he wanted it but also insisted, "I think there's better candidates out there."

But Carlisle is the only one of five candidates on the Mavericks' A-list who is presently available. Cuban might not be inclined to wait to see if Mike D'Antoni extricates himself from Phoenix as expected or if Detroit elects to part company with Flip Saunders.

The only other name currently on Cuban's radar is Jeff Van Gundy, who, like Carlisle, has been working as an ESPN analyst this season. But Van Gundy insisted again Friday that he's "not interested in coaching anywhere [next season] due to family reasons." Van Gundy added the Mavericks have not contacted him, although it is well known Cuban is a Van Gundy fan and vice versa.

If Carlisle were to emerge as the Mavs' clear-cut favorite, questions will inevitably be raised about his coaching style and demeanor, which critics would inevitably describe as not too unlike the conservative, demanding Johnson. But Carlisle, 47, would also appear to offer the best blend of offensive and defensive pedigree after posting a record of 281-211 (.571) in stints at Detroit and Indiana, which Mavericks management -- and star forward Dirk Nowitzki -- have described as a priority in recent days.

After serving as an offensive coordinator of sorts in Indiana for Larry Bird during Bird's strong three-season stint as Pacers coach from 1997-98 through 1999-2000 -- which included a trip to the 2000 NBA Finals -- Carlisle won coach of the year honors in his first season in Detroit in 2001-02. He posted consecutive 50-32 records before the Pistons replaced him with Larry Brown. Carlisle moved to the Pacers, went 61-21 in his first season before losing in the conference finals to Brown during Detroit's 2004 championship run. He then guided the Pacers to two more playoff bids in spite of seemingly constant off-court turmoil and injury which followed Indiana's infamous brawl in Detroit in November 2004.

Carlisle has also interviewed with Chicago and New York. The meeting with the Knicks and new team president Donnie Walsh -- Carlisle's former Indiana boss -- happened this week as well, according to a Friday report by the New York Post's Peter Vecsey.

Ex-Knicks guard Mark Jackson, also an ESPN analyst, remains the consensus favorite to land the Knicks' job. Jackson has likewise interviewed with Chicago, but Johnson is expected to be summoned for interviews by both the Knicks and Bulls. ESPN.com also reported Friday that Chicago is the most likely landing spot for D'Antoni if he and the Suns part ways as widely expected.

Back in Dallas, this is the first time Cuban -- for all of his perceived volatility -- has fired a coach and the first time he's considering external candidates.

Cuban inherited Don Nelson as a coach when he assumed ownership control of the Mavs in January 2000 and ultimately gave Nelson two contract extensions after they hit it off in those first few months together. Cuban then targeted Johnson as Nelson's replacement when Johnson was still a player and assistant coach, repeatedly observing Johnson's ability to lead and motivate from his daily seat in close proximity to the Dallas bench. Don Nelson, furthermore, asked out more than he was pushed out in March 2005.

But giving this big job to someone he knows well, as he likes to do in all of his businesses, doesn't seem possible for Cuban this time. Not unless Donnie Nelson -- formerly a hot-shot coaching prospect before his full-time move to the front office when Johnson took over as head coach -- unexpectedly changes his mind and asks for his clipboard back.

"My job is to get the best guy that we can get out there," Donnie Nelson said in his radio interview. "I'm on the list. I'm just the last guy and hopefully it doesn't get to that. ... I'm saying we'd have to get through a very, very long list in order for [Donnie Nelson to coach the team] and don't look for it to happen."

Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here.