Carlisle to vist Dirk in Germany

Rick Carlisle is leaving for Germany next week for some extra bonding time with Dirk Nowitzki, who is preparing for the next month’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Carlisle has made it a point to meet with several players – Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Josh Howard, Jerry Stackhouse and others – to get the ball rolling for next season.

“You’ve got to use the summer to connect with guys, find out about them and try to help them get a little better in some areas from a skill-development standpoint,” Carlisle said. “Get them plugged into situations that are going to present themselves in games next year now. It’s been good.”

Stackhouse played for Carlisle in Detroit six years ago.

“Rick is going to be good,” Stackhouse said. “He’s a guy that knows the game. He’s played on some great teams, been around a lot of basketball knowledge as well as his thoughts about how the game of basketball should be played – I think his style will be great for this team.”

Carlisle also plans to have his coaching staff finalized this month.

“The summer is an opportunity,” he said. “We have to take advantage of it.”