Five and a half games out of eighth place, the Dallas Mavericks are probably going to miss the playoffs for just the second time in the last 17 seasons. With 43 losses, they’ve already clinched their first losing season since 1999-00. But head coach Rick Carlisle is happy with how his team is transitioning to a younger roster, as Dwain Price writes for the Forth Worth Star-Telegram:

Despite the Mavericks’ subpar 31-43 record, along with their extremely slim playoff chances, Carlisle is optimistic enough that he still sees the glass as half-full. That might be why, after Thursday’s practice at Rhodes College, Carlisle said, “This is one of the funnest years of coaching I’ve ever had. Because it’s great guys, we’ve seen great improvement and we’ve managed to cultivate a nucleus of young talent here that’s got a chance to play.

“That will serve us well next year. It doesn’t guarantee anything, but it’s hoping to set us up for the future. The other part of this is we’ve got to keep this thing set up so that we’ve got the right guys around Dirk (Nowitzki) so that he can play as long as he can play.”

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“I don’t look at it that it’s a losing season,” Carlisle said. “All this stuff, you look at the opportunity for improvements, and there’s a big picture.

“Look, I’ve been here nine years and I’m signed up for another five, so I’ve got to look at this like a management/ownership type person that says ‘Here’s what we got, how do we get these guys better today and prepare them to get better tomorrow.’ We’ve got to get to the summertime with a good idea of what we’ve got, figure out who we need to get back, who we need to get rid of, and what we’re going to do in the draft.”