Thunderous Intentions
Fansided

OKC Thunder: 10 NBA assistants to consider for head coach

By Tamberlyn Richardson

OKC Thunder head coach search: Rick Carlisle and assistants of Dallas Mavericks. (Photo by Ashley Landis-Pool/Getty Images)
OKC Thunder head coach search: Rick Carlisle and assistants of Dallas Mavericks. (Photo by Ashley Landis-Pool/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 6
Next
OKC Thunder
OKC Thunder head coach search: Jamahl Mosley (Photo by Peter Larsen/Getty Images for David Yurman) /

Jamahl Mosley – the Rising Star

The Dallas Mavericks bench boss Rick Carlisle coaching tree is another robust producer of future talents. Terry Stotts and Dwane Casey who were the lead assistants for offense and defense in the Mavs title run each landed heading coaching gigs after that run. The most recent addition to the list is Stephen Silas who ran the Mavericks offense this season and the Houston Rockets tabbed to replace Mike D’Antoni.

Another assistant drawing ample attention is Jamahl Mosley. Kevin Arnowitz of ESPN listed Mosley in the rising stars section of his hottest names in the coaching market article.

While Stephen Silas was the Mavericks lead offensive assistant, Mosley handled the defensive side of the court. Dallas was celebrated more for its offensive system but made strides over the season. ranking 18th pre-All-Star and14th post All-Star break. The 42-year old has been on Carlisle’s staff since the 2014-15 season. Over the past six seasons, he’s honed his skills in Dallas. Arnowitz offers the perfect description of Mosley’s talents:

"There’s a certain blend of personal qualities executives look for in first-time head coaches: affability, discipline, mental fortitude, self-awareness, intellectual curiosity and energy. Mosley checks every box and has the added benefit of a graduate education in X’s and O’s from one of the game’s best tacticians."

Like many of the candidates T.I. has considered, Mosley played professionally. After attending Colorado State he played professionally on several international squads including the Petroleros de Salamanca in Mexico and Victoria Titans in Australia.

He began his coaching career with the Denver Nuggets in 2005 in player development eventually taking the leap to the bench as an assistant. From 2010 to 2014 he served as an assistant for the Cleveland Cavaliers and moved to Dallas in 2014.

Presti should take a long hard look at Mosely since he has experience working with superstars, and rebuilding teams.

Home/Thunder News