Donnie (Donn) Nelson, the son of legendary coach Don Nelson, was a long-time executive and General Manager for the Dallas Mavericks. He was a major influencer in bringing in foreign players to the NBA. He was a key piece in drafting Dirk Nowitzki for the Mavericks and was a huge part of why the Mavericks got to their first NBA Final in 2006. He also had a great relationship with Luka Doncic.
That was why when he got fired in June 2021, it shocked the basketball world. Why would Mark Cuban (owner of the Dallas Mavericks), who allegedly offered Nelson a 66 million dollar extension, fire the man that has the best relationship with your superstar? Now stories are coming out that might be the missing pieces to the puzzle.
Donnie Nelson filed a lawsuit against Mark Cuban alleging that he was fired because he reported an incident where his nephew was assaulted by Mavericks Chief of Staff, Jason Latin. Apparently, Putin had invited Nelson’s nephew to his room during the 2020 All-Star weekend in Chicago, according to ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr.
Nelson in his lawsuit has stated that he was unaware of the incident until he and Cuban discussed extending his contract for the next 10 years. He says that Cuban offered him 52 million dollars to withdraw a wrongful termination claim and sign a confidentiality statement with regards to his Nephew’s assault. Nelson was also unaware of his Nephew accepting a settlement from the team.
The Dallas Mavericks responded to the lawsuit by denying all claims. Owner Mark Cuban also denied the claim and said, ‘Everything in that filing is a lie’- NBA Today, ESPN. This isn’t the first time that the Mavericks have had sexual assault claims being made. The previous CEO Terdema Ussery was also accused of sexual assault and left the team in 2015. Donnie Nelson has no reason to lie and because Luka only knew about the firing after it was done says a lot about the situation.
Statement from the Dallas Mavericks: pic.twitter.com/JPrMQ4BleQ
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) March 18, 2022
