FRIDAY, 10:20am: Najera was introduced today as the new Legends' head coach, tweets Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. According to Legends owner and Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson, Najera will assist him in making basketball decisions for the Mavs, tweets Sneed.
THURSDAY, 10:52am: The Legends will introduce Najera at a press conference tomorrow morning, according to a team release. Team owner Donnie Nelson and GM Del Harris will be on hand.
TUESDAY, 2:29pm: Eduardo Najera is ending his NBA playing career, retiring to become a head coach in the D-League, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein. According to Stein, Najera will become the coach and part-owner of the Texas Legends, the Mavericks' D-League affiliate. Del Harris, who had been coaching the Legends, will transition back into his original role as the team's general manager and will mentor Najera, who has no previous coaching appearance, says Stein.
Najera, 36, played 12 seasons in the NBA, averaging 4.9 points and 3.7 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per game over the course of 619 career contests. A good chunk of those games, plus all 59 of his postseason contests, came with the Nuggets and Mavericks, though the forward also spent time with the Warriors, Nets, and Bobcats. According to Basketball-Reference, Najera earned over $36MM during his playing career.
Peter Vecsey of the New York Post reported earlier this month that Najera was planning to retire to coach in the D-League.
Good for Dallas Najera and Finley. Finley’s experience as well as Najera’s grit……it is a good deal.