Dallas Basketball

Mavs Hire Nick Van Exel to join scouting department

The Dallas Mavericks have brought back another member of the 'family' in Nick Van Exel to occupy a key front office personnel role within the franchise

Matt Galatzan

Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

DALLAS - In years past, the Dallas Mavericks have been known for bringing former players back into the franchise to contribute in various positions throughout the organization.

From Michael Finley taking over the role of Vice President of Basketball Operations, to hiring Rolando Blackman as the Director of Basketball Development, and bringing in Darrell Armstrong as an assistant coach, the Mavs have made a point to take care of 'family' throughout the years.

There have even been talks of Dirk Nowitzki joining the franchise in some capacity whenever he decides to return to the world of the employed from his well-deserved retirement vacation. (DB.com has reported that Mark Cuban would be interested in having Dirk join ownership.)

And per a report from our friend Marc Stein of the New York Times, the Mavs are Keeping alive with that tradition, and have hired former guard and perennial Sixth Man of the Year candidate, Nick Van Exel, to occupy the role of Pro Personnel Scout within the front office.

In his new role with Dallas, Van Exel is, among other responsibilities, is expected to help in the scouting of upcoming opponents.

Van Exel, who appeared in 100 games with the Mavs for two seasons, instantly became a fan favorite when he was brought in via trade with the Denver Nuggets in the deal that also brought the Mavericks Avery Johnson, Raef Lafrentz, and Tariq Abdul Wahad, in exchange for Tim Hardaway, Donnell Harvey, Juwan Howard, and a first-round pick.

In those 100 games, Van Exel averaged 12.7 points and 4.3 assists in 27.8 minutes per game, while shooting 43.4-percent from the field and 37-percent from three.

Since his retirement from the league, Van Exel worked as an assistant coach for Texas Southern, before moving into a player development position with the Atlanta Hawks, and spending one year as the head coach of the Mavs G-League affiliate, the Texas Legends in 2015.

Van Exel's last stop before heading back to Dallas was with the Memphis Grizzlies, where he was hired as an assistant coach with the team in 2016. 

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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com, AllAggies.com, and the Managing Editor of BuckeyesNow.com and TheGroveReport.com. He is also the Editor-In-Chief of RamDigest.com and TexansDaily.com. Galatzan graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration.  Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry under Mike Fisher at DallasBasketball.com in 2014, which at the time was part of the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com on the 247Sports network.  When DallasBasketball.com and CowboysCountry.com moved over to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, Galatzan followed suit, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com and AllAggies.com a year later.  Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, former Longhorns players Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, and many other recruits, and current/former players for each of the teams he has covered.  Galatzan is also a full-time employee in the digital media department for Audacy and KRLD FM's 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, which is the official radio home of the Dallas Cowboys. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan. For any inquiries, please email matt.galatzan@gmail.com

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