The Mavericks must undo the mistake fans will never forgive Nico Harrison for

The recent firing of health and performance director Johann Bilsborough marks the fourth consecutive season the Dallas Mavericks have made changes in that department. More importantly, that move brought up a question of whether the Mavs can bring back one of their fan favorites.

One of the main voices in the Dallas Mavericks organization was former head athletic trainer Casey Smith, and that was the way it was until he was fired by Nico Harrison just before the 2023-24 season. Smith was a familiar face on the Mavs bench for nearly 20 years and was a trusted voice within the team.

As of today, Smith serves as the Vice President of Sports Medicine for the New York Knicks. ESPN's Tim MacMahon was on the Howdy Partners podcast to say that while a reunion is unlikely, nothing is completely out of the picture.

Mavericks need to bring back Casey Smith but it's a long shot

"You need a fresh start in that position," MacMahon said. "Whether they can reestablish the culture that they had, and Casey Smith was a huge part of the culture. I was just told, don't get your hopes up on that. Again, I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm just saying don't get your hopes up on that."

He also added that he believes Jason Kidd would love to have Smith back on staff, but it's "not his hire."

What's even more impossible is that Smith is under contract with the Knicks, and he can't just leave his duties unless Dallas makes a lucrative offer that Smith can't refuse. But once again, this is another blunder by Harrison before his most infamous blunder of all-time, trading Luka Doncic, because that always deserves a mention.

Smith was let go by Harrison under the most awkward circumstances, as Smith's mother was ill and in the final weeks of her life. Rather than giving Smith time to recover and get situated to care for his mom, Harrison fired Smith over a video call. Just like that, a nearly 20-year tenure ended, and one of the more popular faces in the franchise was gone.

With various injuries throughout the past two seasons, it doesn't seem like anything has been working in the health department. Smith's veteran presence was well missed from the point that Dallas never had to worry about hiring anybody else for nearly two decades.

The firing of Casey Smith was one of Nico Harrison's many blunders

The loyalty of the Mavericks slowly tumbled after that. With the Doncic trade adding to the Mavs' front office shattering their relationship with Dirk Nowitzki, the firing of Smith got the ball rolling on what would be a toxic next two years for Dallas.

Shortly after Doncic was traded, Quentin Grimes was playing the best basketball of his career with Dallas, knocking down shots with confidence and guarding the best guards. Harrison traded Grimes for Caleb Martin, and since then, the trade has only put Harrison into a deeper hole, as Grimes has been killing it with the Philadelphia 76ers, while Martin is still trying to find his groove.

After the fanbase and organization had had enough, Harrison was eventually fired, leaving Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi as co-general managers. With the front office looking in a new direction in the health department after this season, there should be an extremely thorough search to find the right guy.

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