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The more news that comes out about Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison, the more clear it becomes why he traded away Luka Doncic. And that reason is that the man is not acting based on logic, but emotion.
According to a report from ESPN, Nico Harrison, who was already perhaps the most embattled executive in all of American sports, fired a beloved long-time Dallas Mavericks staffer over Zoom while he was taking care of his terminally ill mother.
Tim MacMahon reports that Casey Smith, Dallas’ director of health and performance who had been with the team for nearly 20 yeas, was fired by Harrison for not being enough of a “yes man.”
Smith was considered to be a “best friend” of Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki, who credits Smith with extending his career to 21 Hall of Fame seasons.
“Harrison informed Smith that they needed to meet. Smith replied that it wasn’t possible to meet in person; he had gone to his hometown in Ohio to be at the side of his gravely ill mother in the final weeks of her life. Harrison set up a video conference meeting instead.”
“Smith was then informed that his services in Dallas were no longer needed, ending a nearly two-decade tenure with the franchise. The reason for the dismissal centered on Smith being ‘too negative,’ according to sources briefed on the discussion who interpreted the vague reasoning to mean Smith wasn’t enough of a yes-man.” [via ESPN]
The firing of Casey Smith has also led Dirk to distance himself from the franchise, now reportedly calling himself a “fan” and he no longer wants to be “involved in the inner workings of the franchise’s basketball operations.”
Speaking during his end-of-season press conference earlier this week, Harrison made the shocking admission that he did not realize the “level” to which Doncic was important to the Mavericks fanbase.
“Nico Harrison firing Casey Smith—after 20 years of distinguished service, over Zoom, while Casey was out of town to be with his dying mother—tells you every single thing you need to know about Nico Harrison,” read a viral tweet with nearly half-a-million views on Twitter.
Casey Smith was one of the most beloved people on the Mavs staff WHO WAS ALSO the most respected person in his field. Nico fired Smith while he was away to be with his dying mother bc he didn’t fall in line.
Shoutout everyone still supporting this nonsense.… pic.twitter.com/FnrWODlP2K
— Jason Gallagher (@jga41agher) April 21, 2025
Jalen Brunson credits Casey Smith, Heather Mau, and the entirety of the Knicks' training and coaching staff for the job they did in helping him return to the court pic.twitter.com/5tpdqU0Gl6
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 15, 2025
Given the increasing pile-up of negative PR surrounding Harrison — and results, as the Mavs were dumped out of the Western Conference playoff tournament and will likely also begin next season without Kyrie Irving — it’s difficult to imagine how Harrison survives (figuratively, of course) another season in Dallas.