Rick Carlisle, notorious for his stern coaching demeanor, recently revealed an opinion no one would expect. With a brand new team and outlook for the 2016-17 season, Carlisle sees room for change for the Mavericks.

“I think it could be quite different,” Carlisle told 103.3 FM ESPN in a recent interview. “You know, at this point, I don’t know that for sure. We’ll have to see. We’re more physical. You know, Parsons was a guy that is a different kind of player than Barnes, and Parsons was a very good ball-handler and playmaker. You know, I think Barnes can develop into a playmaker, but that has not been his DNA and that has not been what’s been asked of him in Golden State. What I found spending five days in the gym working out with him is that he’s a better ball-handler than most of us would expect, but we’re going to have to ease him into those situations and just kind of go from there.”

Carlisle wasted no time to get comfortable with his new team. He has no doubt in his mind the Mavs can and will improve upon last year's efforts.

“I think we can be a better defensive team, because of Bogut, and I think we’ll be a more physical defensive team from top to bottom. And then it’s going to come down to style,” Carlisle continued. “You know, at this point and time, everything is on paper, and we’re really going to have to look closely in terms of what’s the right style of play for this team. Whether it is going to be continuing to be a real up-tempo, fast-paced type of team, or is it going to be a little more of a medium-tempo type of team? We’ll see. But I think we’re going to have the option to play different ways, which is a very important thing to have.”