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Mavericks lose God Shamgod to Magic, likely replace with Phil Handy

More movement for the Mavericks coaching staff, as player development coach God Shamgod accepted an assistant coaching position with the Orlando Magic, according to various NBA reporters. Dallas intends to bring in veteran assistant coach Phil Handy as a replacement, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.

Shamgod joined the Mavericks back under Rick Carlisle in 2016, focusing on player development for his tenure with Dallas. In Shamgod’s playing days he was a wildly talented ball handler, and he imparted some of that wisdom to Mavericks players while in Dallas. By all accounts Shamgod was one of the most beloved members of the organization.

Handy coached previously with the Lakers, Raptors, and Cavaliers, and most recently was the head coach of Mist BC of the Unrivaled women’s professional basketball league. Handy has a close relationship with Mavericks star Kyrie Irving, so it makes sense for Handy to make his way to Dallas.

How Phil Handy connected Kyrie Irving & Kobe Bryant:

Phil: "I called Kobe and was like, 'I need your help with this young kid. He respects the hell out of you, he loves you.'"

Kobe: "Man I love that kid's [Kyrie's] game. Give him my number any time." pic.twitter.com/814UdVfvpW

— Podcast P with Paul George (@PodcastPShow) December 16, 2024

It is foolish to try and quantify what this move means for Dallas, other than the Mavericks are losing a trusted and respected voice in their locker room, but also gaining another as well with Handy. It remains to be seen what effects this will have on the Mavericks, but try not to wrap your brain around it too tight.

Dallas now has an almost completely new coaching staff behind Jason Kidd. Alex Jensen, Sean Sweeney have already departed, and Jared Dudley is expected to accept a position with the Denver Nuggets soon. Mavericks fans have tried to interpret that as a sign of Kidd’s job insecurity, and while it’s not common for an entire coaching staffed to get upheaved in one summer, assistant coaches angling for a better career path and upward trajectory is normal. We’ll see how this Mavericks season goes before we wonder about Kidd’s place with the organization.

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