The Dallas Mavericks are in transition as they were unable to secure an elite player in the offseason, but still brought in nine new players.

Rick Carlisle is in his fifth season as head coach, leading the Mavericks to the championship in 2011 while also presiding over a team that will be fortunate to make the playoffs in 2013.

Donnie Nelson believes Carlisle is a capable coach regardless of the situation.

"Rick is one of those guys that whether it's a veteran team or whether it's a team with a lot of new faces like we have now, I think he's one of those rare guys that's equally effective in both of those areas," said Carlisle. "You have some guys come in that are specialists that can rebuild, you have some guys that are good with the kind of in-between teams, you've got some guys that come in and are specialists and take this championship team and get the most out of them. I think Rick really runs the gamut."