Looks like we’re finding out why Avery Johnson got dusted so quickly after Dallas’ second first-round ouster in as many years.
If it went down the way The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram is reporting, Johnson lost control of the locker room and the red-eyed weed monster, Josh Howard is to blame.
A late-night party to celebrate Josh Howard's 28th birthday after Sunday's Game 4 loss turned Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson livid and led him to cancel Monday's practice, two sources confirmed.
Johnson, who stressed no partying during the series, was informed before Monday's scheduled practice that Howard handed out fliers to teammates in the locker room before Game 4, inviting them to his party at a Dallas nightclub.
Upon learning of the party, the sources said, Johnson entered the locker room and asked the players who attended to stand up. Infuriated, Johnson lit into his team and then called off practice. He told the team they'd meet on the flight to New Orleans.
So, while Howard may not have cost Johnson his actual job, his mis-timed weed-use admission and B-day smokefest sure as hell hastened the inevitable.
This is the kind of incident that can be a career-killer for a guy like Johnson. Teams looking for a strong leader, like the Bulls for instance, won’t be eager to hire the former fireplug guard with this lack-of-discipline thing looming.
Not that it looks like it matters much to Mark Cuban, who was spied...ahem...‘merrily’ yukking it up in the front row this evening at Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs annihilate the Brewers 19-5.
Sorry to write so much about the Mavericks, but they are a terrific story and the words just flow like chicken through a fat dog.*
*thanks to thebleeper! bleep on, baby!
