DALLAS MAVERICKS OFFICIALS and select staffers, past and present, traveled on the team`s plane to Springfield, Massachusetts, in August 2023. They were joined by members of Dirk Nowitzki`s inner circle to celebrate Nowitzki`s induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, honoring the franchise`s most iconic figure.
Mavs general manager Nico Harrison was among them, despite not being particularly close to Nowitzki. Their connection spanned over two decades, dating back to Harrison`s early career at Nike in Dallas.
Casey Smith, Dallas’ director of health and performance, also accompanied the group. Nowitzki often credited Smith, who began with the Mavs in 2004 and rose to an executive position, for prolonging his 21-season career. Nowitzki deeply trusted Smith, considering him a close friend.
Others present at the Hall of Fame festivities, which included lavish private parties hosted by Nowitzki’s longtime special projects manager Lara Beth Seager, recall no signs of trouble that weekend. Harrison and Smith were both accompanied by their wives.
However, events that unfolded afterward triggered a series of crucial behind-the-scenes decisions. These decisions dramatically impacted the Mavs during a season marred by disappointment and injuries. Interviews with over a dozen team and league insiders reveal that the seeds of the Luka Doncic era`s end, which officially occurred on Feb. 2, were sown 18 months prior. The franchise`s culture began to erode in the summer before Doncic led the Mavs to the NBA Finals.
Shortly after returning from the Hall of Fame event, Harrison requested a meeting with Smith. Smith explained he was in Ohio, attending to his critically ill mother in her final weeks. They arranged a video conference instead.
During this call, Smith was informed his services were no longer required, ending his nearly 20-year tenure. Sources familiar with the discussion indicated the dismissal was due to Smith being perceived as `too negative,` interpreted by many as not being sufficiently compliant.
`He felt threatened by him, 100 percent,` a team source told ESPN, suggesting Harrison feared Smith`s influence within the franchise. `He wanted to assert his authority and eliminate any challenges.`
This move was the initial step in Harrison`s extensive overhaul of the team`s health and performance department over two offseasons. Smith`s abrupt departure was followed by the firings of athletic performance director Jeremy Holsopple and manual therapist Casey Spangler in June, shortly after the Mavs` NBA Finals appearance.
When questioned about Smith, Harrison dismissed the significance, stating, `Bringing up Casey [Smith] is almost comical. Last year, Casey wasn`t here, and we reached the Finals. No one mentioned Casey then. Why bring him up now? He`s been gone for two years. I won`t comment further.`
Sources revealed to ESPN that strained relations between Doncic’s representatives—agent Bill Duffy and business manager Seager, introduced to Doncic by Nowitzki—and Harrison`s new staff contributed to the decision to trade Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis in February.
Smith, Holsopple, and Spangler, all long-term Mavs employees, had been instrumental in helping Doncic adjust culturally after his arrival from Europe as a teenager. They became trusted confidants. However, Harrison reportedly viewed them as `enablers` of Doncic, despite their widespread respect within the league. Holsopple was recognized as the NBA’s Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year in 2021, and Smith served as the head athletic trainer for Team USA during their Olympic gold medal victories in 2008 and 2012.
Harrison asserted, `We believe the individuals who replaced them are doing an exceptional job. You`re approaching this negatively, but I see it positively. The people we`ve brought in are superior.`
Dysfunction among Harrison’s new hires—director of player health and performance Johann Bilsborough and athletic performance director Keith Belton—has exacerbated the Mavs’ injury woes, according to sources. The team has lacked a full-time manual therapist this season. At one point, the Mavs struggled to field a team with the minimum eight players, as their performance dipped below .500 before a 39-43 finish, barely securing a play-in spot.
Harrison`s decision to fire Smith, and the manner in which it was done, alienated Nowitzki. Sources indicate Nowitzki, who now identifies as a `Mavs fan,` chose to step back from involvement in basketball operations after Smith`s forced exit. Previously, Nowitzki was a senior advisor to Mark Cuban, frequently attending practices and offering input.
Smith`s removal also led to the departure of Mavs vice president of basketball communications Scott Tomlin, another long-serving employee close to Smith, Nowitzki, and Doncic. Tomlin became the executive director of the DN Companies and The Dirk Nowitzki Foundation.
`My loyalty is to the Dallas Mavericks,` Harrison stated. `My priority is the best interest of the Mavericks. Some decisions may be unpopular with Dirk or the fans, but my duty is to the Dallas Mavericks.`
Nowitzki and Tomlin have attended only two NBA games since February: Doncic’s Lakers debut on Feb. 10 and his return to Dallas on April 9.
`Over the past year, the team`s direction was already shifting,` Nowitzki commented in German on his foundation’s podcast. `Now, we`re seeing the consequences.`
DERECK LIVELY II, a promising 21-year-old center, was listed as questionable on Jan. 20 with a right ankle sprain after missing two games. Under Belton’s supervision, Lively underwent intense pre-game workouts but remained sidelined.
The plan was for Lively to play at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves two nights later.
However, Bilsborough raised concerns, leading to a CT scan that revealed a stress fracture in Lively’s right ankle, sidelining him for 2½ months.
`Someone should be fired for this,` a team source remarked.
Multiple sources indicated this incident was symptomatic of deeper issues.
Harrison, however, portrayed the handling of Lively’s injury as evidence of his medical staff’s `elite` capabilities. He noted Lively’s camp was satisfied with Bilsborough’s communication during recovery.
`It highlights our medical team’s strength. Despite being cleared to play, they detected something more based on symptoms,` Harrison explained. `Further testing revealed a stress fracture, averting potentially catastrophic injury. This is a positive outcome—they prevented him from playing, re-evaluated, and thankfully identified the fracture.`
Sources describe a heated confrontation between Bilsborough and Belton over this situation, escalating from the trainer’s room to the weight room. Harrison did not respond to inquiries about this or other health department incidents.
`No punches, but it was intense,` a source who saw surveillance footage recounted.
`This was brewing for a while,` another source added.
THE FRICTION HAD been building for months. Harrison`s decision to hire Belton before Bilsborough, despite Bilsborough leading the department, created tension.
Sources suggest Bilsborough lacks respect for Belton’s expertise.
`He`s just a cheerleader,` a source said, `Nico wanted cheerleader energy.`
Belton reportedly lacks required certifications for NBA strength coaches according to the collective bargaining agreement. While the league acknowledged this, they accepted his college certifications temporarily, expecting him to obtain NSCA certifications post-season. Belton`s UCLA bio highlighted his `Stucky Award` for excellence in practical exams.
Critics describe Belton as more of a personal trainer than a `body engineer` expected of modern NBA strength coaches.
`Johann`s department is constrained,` a source noted. `[Belton’s] role in player training and departmental alignment is lacking, and their ongoing conflict is disruptive.`
`He’s been disrespectful to Johann all year, lacking collaboration. He`s either aloof or makes poor decisions to spite Johann. It`s detrimental and risky for players.`
Belton, a former NFL fullback, had no NBA experience prior to this season, with a background primarily in college football performance coaching.
Bilsborough, an Australian sports scientist, previously served as the New England Patriots’ director of performance and rehabilitation and had experience with the Boston Celtics as their director of sports science.
A Celtics source described Bilsborough as an intelligent academic but `divisive` when disagreeing. His relationship with Boston`s head athletic trainer, Art Horne, was strained, leading to departmental cliques and communication issues. Bilsborough left Boston after three seasons; Horne was promoted within the Celtics organization.
Bilsborough struggled to connect with Doncic and his personal team. Harrison`s prior actions had already alienated Doncic, and Bilsborough, replacing the respected Smith, never gained Doncic’s trust.
Jalen Brunson’s New York Knicks hired Smith as VP of sports medicine as soon as his Mavs contract ended, along with former Mavs athletic trainer Heather Mau. The Knicks have seen a significant reduction in injuries, and Smith and Mau oversaw Brunson`s recovery from a severe ankle sprain.
Brunson, after leaving the Mavs, praised `the Caseys` (Smith, Holsopple, and Mau) for their profound impact, highlighting their personal approach and support beyond just work.
Opinions on Bilsborough among Mavs sources and player agents are divided. Some see him as competent and evidence-based, while others criticize his lack of player relationships, limited team presence early in the season, and overly optimistic injury timelines.
`If you’re not consistently around, you shouldn`t be making decisions,` a source commented.
Another source, while acknowledging Bilsborough’s strengths, noted, `Building personal connections is a challenge, and that was Casey’s forte.`
Harrison defended the health and performance group, attributing most injuries to unavoidable contact.
However, several Mavs players have aggravated or sustained new injuries shortly after returning to play.
`Contact injuries are one thing, but recovery speed and reinjury risk are different,` a source pointed out. `The medical and performance staff are crucial for safe and effective returns.`
Another source added, `Organizational dysfunction, stemming from the trade itself, is evident in the medical department`s struggles. There`s pressure to expedite returns, potentially compromising player health to validate past front office decisions.`
A key example is Anthony Davis’s adductor strain in his Dallas debut after returning from an abdominal strain. Davis admitted he returned too soon, a decision made with his personal medical team and Bilsborough.
`They communicate daily,` Davis said, noting his collaboration with his personal staff and Bilsborough. `It`s a unified team.`
However, sources indicate the Bilsborough-Belton dynamic is far from unified, negatively impacting the team. `In successful organizations, medical and performance staffs are seamless. Here, they are divided and conflicting, harming the players,` a source concluded.
MONTHS BEFORE SMITH’S departure, Doncic and Seager hired Real Madrid physiotherapist Javier Barrio Calvo and Slovenian strength coach Anze Macek to address Doncic’s quad injury from the 2023 draft lottery. This mirrored a trend of NBA stars employing personal health teams in consultation with team staff.
Doncic envisioned his team working with Smith, who regularly visited Slovenia and attended national team games. With Smith gone, Holsopple became the Mavs’ liaison with Doncic’s team.
Doncic’s camp deemed the first season of this arrangement highly successful. He led the league in scoring, was near the top in rebounds and assists, and set records for playoff performance and total minutes.
`You don’t perform like that if you`re out of shape,` a friend of Doncic remarked, refuting implications that Doncic was responsible for the trade due to conditioning issues.
Despite his performance, Harrison worried about Doncic’s weight gain. Tensions grew between Harrison, Doncic, and his camp. Bilsborough entered a tense situation and failed to gain Doncic’s trust.
Sources say Mark Cuban offered to mediate but Harrison, having consolidated control post-Dumont’s governorship, resisted.
Doncic’s calf injury before training camp, initially downplayed, worsened, revealed a Grade 1 strain, unmentioned by the Mavs. Doncic missed preseason and gained weight, frustrating Harrison.
Doncic, using his doctors, was later diagnosed with a wrist sprain. Sources suggest Harrison viewed this as a pretext for conditioning work after a slow season start.
A practice feed showing Doncic scrimmaging and only shooting jumpers was quickly removed from the media room, indicating internal sensitivities.
Barrio Calvo and Bilsborough communicated but frequently disagreed. Meetings involving Harrison, Bilsborough, Seager, Barrio Calvo, and Duffy were often strained. Doncic avoided working with Belton.
Tensions peaked after Doncic’s Christmas Day calf strain—his fourth in 28 months. Doncic’s team felt he returned too soon from a heel bruise, while Harrison blamed conditioning.
Disagreements extended to Doncic’s return timeline. Bilsborough suggested two to three weeks; Doncic’s team insisted on six. Their longer timeline prevailed, targeting a Feb. 8 return.
`This deepened the divide,` a source said.
Doncic remained off his leg for two weeks. Four-week MRI results were positive, but the plan held.
Another conflict arose when Doncic declined Harrison’s request to join a five-game road trip.
Sources say Harrison felt Doncic was `holding the team hostage.`
Doncic’s camp argued that staying at the practice facility allowed intensive daily workouts and access to equipment, impractical on the road. They offered for him to practice with the G League Texas Legends.
Harrison’s next communication was to announce the finalized Lakers trade, negotiated secretly for weeks.
