Nico Harrison's path of destruction derails Dereck Lively II's Mavericks career

There's no doubt that one of Dallas Mavericks fans' biggest gripes with third-year center Dereck Lively II is how injury-prone he has become since turning pro. This season alone, Lively II has only appeared in seven of the Mavericks' 19 games, and just last season, Lively II only suited up for 36 games as he dealt with numerous lower-body injuries.

While this season appears to be more of the same for Lively II, as he is now set to miss an extended period of time with a foot issue, fans have linked the exact moment that may have ruined his professional career. When Nico Harrison fired longtime head athletic trainer Casey Smith, in an effort to gain more control in the organization, he hired a less experienced and underqualified athletic trainer who completely mismanaged Lively II's lengthy injury history and may have derailed Lively II's career.

Not only are the Mavericks still having the lasting effects of Harrison's boneheaded hire, but as the franchise has turned a new page after firing Harrison, Lively II's injury concern only grows worse. It may be easy to blame one person, but as the team is in their third season with Lively II, it's clear that Harrison's lack of knowledge when it came to hiring a competent athletic trainer has come back to haunt Lively II.

Nico Harrison's decisions created long-term problems for Dereck Lively II

In an effort to correct the mistakes of Dallas' previous athletic trainers' mishaps, Lively II underwent offseason surgery to repair bone spurs and clean up any long-term damage that the team previously missed. While this appeared to be the best outcome for Lively II in the long run, his lengthy injury history has only grown since stepping back on the court, and now that same foot has swelling and discomfort in it.

That's why he's out of the lineup right now, and last season's handling of this injury likely made it much worse.

In hindsight, it's easy to point fingers and blame others for Lively II's setbacks, but there has been a clear correlation between Harrison's awful hiring process to the third-year center's injury history. Not only has Lively II's injury history only grown since last season, but what's even more baffling is the mismanagement of his injuries.

Last season, Lively II was thought to have suffered an ankle sprain when it was later discovered that he had a stress fracture in his foot after nearly playing a full NBA game after being cleared. Thankfully, the stress fractures were discovered before Lively II returned, but since that moment, his injury list has only grown.

Now, this same foot is the one giving him problems and keeping him out of the lineup, and fans are hoping for the best when Dallas provides an update at some point over the next week or so.

Now with a new training staff in the building and more qualified minds to give input on players' rehab process, Lively II should be in safe hands, but it's still a buzz kill knowing that the Mavericks could be without the Duke products' presence for an extended period of time as Dallas tries to figure out what's going on with his foot. Lively II has only suited up for seven games this season, and Mavericks fans will never forgive Nico Harrison for how poorly his staff handled him.