Eduardo Najera retiring from the NBA for a coaching job with D-League side Texas Legends – NBA News
Eduardo Najera is retiring from the NBA so that he can make himself available to take charge as Head Coach of the D League team, Texas Legends, according to sources who have knowledge of the situation.
Najera has accepted a head coaching offer from the Dallas Mavericks president of basketball operations and co-owner of the Legends, Donnie Nelson, to become the new head coach of the D league affiliate of the Mavericks.
Although he has no experience of coaching, the 36 year old will make his coaching debut, taking over from veteran coach Del Harris.
Najera will also have an ownership stake in the Legends, and will be work under Don Nelson in the Mavericks front office. He was the first Mexican player to be drafted in the NBA in 2000, when the Houston Rockets picked him on
behalf of the Mavericks with the 38th overall pick. He had arrived in USA in 1994, and went to the University of Oklahoma after two years of high school. He will now become the first Mexican born coach of the NBA or the D League.
Najera spent 12 seasons in the NBA, the last one with the Charlotte Bobcats. The player was at the receiving end of an elbow from Milwaukee Bucks Jon Brockman in a regular season game in April, which resulted in a fractured frontal
bone that required 12 screws and a mesh to be placed in his forehead.
He was cleared to return to action next season by doctors earlier in the summer, but after a long career in the NBA, he was looking forward to begin his coaching career.
The Legends have posted a 24-26 record in their previous two seasons in the D League. Antonio Daniels, Dan Gadzuric, Alando Tucker and Sean Williams are the former NBA first round draft picks who are currently with the Legends.
The team will hold open tryouts on September 8th for the local talent, and then open training camp under the new coach in November.
Harris has been the consultant to Mavericks owner Mark Cuban over the past few years after a seven year run with the same team as an assistant to coaches Avery Johnson and Don Nelson. He has also been the assistant coach to John
Calipari with the Dominican Republic national team for the past two seasons, which almost made it to the Olympics this year.
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