On May 9, 2008, Carlisle signed a four-year deal with Mark Cuban's Dallas Mavericks, replacing Avery Johnson. He led them to a 50–32 record including a first round win against the San Antonio Spurs. They would lose to the Denver Nuggets 4–1 in the Western Conference Semifinals. The next year, he coached the Mavs to a 55–27 record, first in Southwest Division and second in the West, but lost in the first round to the Spurs. In 2010, Dallas won sixteen of its first twenty games in a competitive Western Conference.