Mavericks’ key leader abandons Dallas to join Western Conference rival

One of the Dallas Mavericks' key bench leaders is moving on to a different Texas team.

Assistant coach Sean Sweeney is heading to the San Antonio Spurs to be their associate head coach. ESPN's Shams Charania reported the news Sunday night.

"Sweeney has interviewed for coaching jobs in recent years and now departs Mavs for elevated role," Charania wrote. 

Sweeney will be the top deputy to Mitch Johnson. This will be Johnson's first year as the full-time head coach for the Spurs. Johnson filled in for much of last season as Gregg Popovich battled health issues, and after Pop stepped down, Johnson was named the new head man.

A native of Saint Paul, Minnesota, Sweeney played at Wisconsin-Green Bay and then the University of St. Thomas back home when he was in college.

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His first NBA job was in 2013-14 as a video coordinator for the Nets.

He was then an assistant with the Bucks and the Pistons before following Jason Kidd to Dallas.

Now, Sweeney moves on and will probably put himself into head-coaching interview consideration in short order. 

The rising coaching star is a tough loss for Dallas, but it's a huge move in his career.

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