Knicks award exposes yet another embarrassing Nico Harrison fumble

In February, Nico Harrison betrayed Dallas Mavericks fans when he traded Luka Doncic to the Lakers. While that was his worst decision since taking over as GM, it wasn't his only. Several of his decisions have played in the Knicks' favor -- not just the Jalen Brunson signing.

In 2023, Harrison shockingly fired Casey Smith, the team's director of health and performance. The Knicks hired Smith as vice president of sports medicine before the 2024-25 season after his contract ended with the Mavericks the season before. They also hired Heather Mau, a former athletic trainer for Dallas.

In Smith and Mau's first season in New York, the medical staff was named the NBA Training Staff of the Year by the National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association.

Knicks medical team named NBA Athletic Training Staff of the Year

Smith joined the Mavericks in 2004 as the team's head athletic trainer and was promoted to director in 2019. He formed a close relationship with legend Dirk Nowitski, who credited Smith for helping him play in the NBA for 21 seasons. Smith was also close with Luka Doncic and even traveled with the team a few times to Slovenia to visit the star during the offseason. Mau was also close with Doncic.

A few weeks ago, Dallas fired head athletic trainer Dionne Calhoun, who took over for Smith. The Mavericks also fired athletic performance director Keith Belton. The Mavericks dealt with several injuries this past season, including Dereck Lively II, who Belton wanted to return to the floor before a CT scan revealed Lively had a stress fracture -- not a sprain.

Last season, New York was hit with numerous injuries, but 2024-25 has been a different story. Brunson sprained his ankle against the Lakers in March in an injury that looked worse than it was. The former Dallas guard credited Smith, Rau, and the training staff for helping him return to play within a month. You can bet Brunson had something to do with the Knicks bringing that duo to NYC.

New York will soon play in its first Eastern Conference Finals in 25 years, while Dallas' season ended a month ago. Making a deep playoff run requires both luck and skill -- luckily for the Knicks, they have the best medical staff in the league. You know who they can thank for that? Harrison. Dallas might not like him, but New York sure does.