Luka Doncic’s trade was not an autonomous example of the director general of Mavericks, Nico Harrison, betraying those of the organization.
According to Tim Macmahon d’Espn and a long list of Mavericks sources that sounded him, the drama in the franchise dates until August 2023, when Harrison dismissed a longtime staff member of Mavericks, Casey Smith, who was close to Direrik Nowitzki and Dononic.
But it was not only that Harrison let go of a confidence member of the organization, he did it while Smith was out of the state taking care of his seriously ill mother in the last weeks of his life.
Smith being in his hometown of Ohio and Harrison being back in Dallas, the first could not meet in person, which led Harrison to set up a call in which he dismissed Smith – apparently out of nowhere.
Smith worked for the Mavericks for almost two decades – he started as an Athletic Trainer Trainer des Mavericks in 2004 before heading to the Dallas Health and Performance Director for years later.
Nowitzki, who is widely considered to be the largest unmanageable of all time, has credited Smith to have contributed so considerably to the long career of 21 years of the great German man. Nowitzki considered Smith as one of his best friends.
Since the dismissal of Smith, Nowitzki has been substantially distant from the Mavericks.
He only attended two NBA games since the successful trade that Harrison has executed on the deadline for this year: the first of Doncic as a Laker and the first game of the Slovenian star in Dallas.
Nowitzki was also used to attending practices frequently and providing a contribution to the team, but chose not to be involved in the internal operation of basketball operations after the dismissal of Smith.
“In the past year, you could already see the team head in a different direction,” said Nowitzki in German recently on the Podcast “Campus 41”. “Now we see the result.”
Doncic had to be largely that of dethroning Nowitzki as the largest franc -tiur of all time and was also close to Smith – he was one of the few members of the Mavericks staff to be able to connect with Donic when he came to Dallas d’Europe as Adolescents.
Harrison reasoned the dismissal by saying that Smith was “too negative”, which many within the team interpreted as Harrison wanting more than one “man-man” in the role.
“(Harrison) was 100% threatened by (Smith),” said a source in ESPN. “(Harrison) will show that (it is) in charge and that no one else can question it.”
Harrison, who has therefore exchanged because of his frustrations at the conditioning of the superstar, believed that Smith was a “catalyst” of Doncic.
“You raise Casey (Smith), it’s almost, it’s a kind of joke,” said Harrison last week. “Last year, Casey was not there, and we arrived in the final. Nobody spoke of Casey last year. So raising it this year does not really make sense. He has left for two years. It is therefore – I will not even comment on this.”
Smith is now working with the Knicks as vice-president of sports medicine, bringing him together with former Maverick Jalen Brunson.
