Mavericks Employee Was Fired by Nico Harrison While Visiting 'Gravely Ill Mother'

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Ashish Mathur | Last updated Apr 21, 2025 6:48 PM ET

A Dallas Mavericks employee was reportedly fired by general manager Nico Harrison while visiting his "gravely ill mother."

According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN , Harrison fired Casey Smith, the Mavericks' director of health and performance, while Smith was with his sick mother. Smith had a close relationship with Dallas legend Dirk Nowitzki and Luka Doncic.

"Harrison informed Smith that they needed to meet," MacMahon wrote. "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."

Harrison traded Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February. MacMahon reported that Doncic's camp and Harrison had a "frigid dynamic."

Doncic, 25, never wanted to be traded by the Mavericks, but he couldn't veto the trade to the Lakers since he doesn't have a no-trade clause in his contract.

Harrison held a closed-door media session with Dallas reporters last week. During that, Harrison took offense at a reporter who asked about Smith.

"You bringing up Casey is like almost, it's kind of a joke," Harrison said. "Like last year, Casey wasn't around and we made it to the Finals. No one brought up Casey last year. So to bring him up this year doesn't really make sense. He's been away for two years. So it's, I'm not even going to comment on that."

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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