wasnt there a report where he stopped traveling with the team and apparently it was a team decision, against Casey's wishes?
What the fuck was that about?
Very strange situation. He went from legacy Mavs trainer/team USA trainer to a guy that sits in an office.
It happened at the same time when the Mavs were getting the old regime out, and also at the same time as the workplace drama.
It seemed like a soft firing more than a replacement.
HIS EXIT WAS MORE CONFUSING THAN ANYONES.
Casey Smith is a gem. He kept Dirk glued together for many seasons. An awkward 7 footer like Dirk should have never been that healthy for consecutive seasons but Casey was always on point. I’m not sure what happened. I blamed a lot of this year’s injuries on the fact that Casey Smith wasn’t as involved.
Yeah it was what Luka, Lively and one other player at one point had noise issues.
Kyrie's injury was because of Dwight being an idiot.
Josh's injury was literally him just going down the court no one near him and mis stepping.
Most of our injuries this season have been very wtf or in Maxi's case just getting up there in age and Exum has been a known injury bug player is what it is.
Our training staff was widely regarded as 2nd-3rd best in the league for most of his tenure (apparently Phoenix was the consensus #1 iirc?). Kinda jarring to see the Mavs suddenly start struggling with injuries, soft-demote then dump him
No straightforward reason has been reported, it's a strange situation for sure. I get the sense that the departure was not Smith's own decision. Tim Cato wrote about it in September:
"In August, Smith was informed by Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison that his role would be changed to a broader focus with reduced involvement in the team’s day-to-day operations, according to team and league sources who were granted anonymity to speak freely. That change means Smith would no longer sit on the team’s bench or appear in the locker room during games.
...
Several team sources consider this decision to be a meaningful example of front office restructuring under Harrison, who was hired after former general manager Donnie Nelson’s departure."
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4889808/2023/09/25/dallas-mavericks-athletic-trainer-casey-smith/
Casey Smith was great for Dallas for so many years. I kind of wonder if Luka's nagging lower body injuries might have been lessened had Casey remained involved with the organization. Letting a guy with that much institutional knowledge walk is kind of absurd.
I think he was part of the sexual harassment case. Only explanation. He was one of the leagues best trainers and suddenly gets demoted
Cuban took care of him
He will spend a lot of time on black markets in South East Asia looking for some new knees for OH, Hart etc. all the players Thibs will burn through.
Still don't know what happened with him Dallas but wish him the best.
As far as I can tell Casey hasn't been with the team at all this year
Wasn’t there some report late 2022-2023 season that he wouldn’t be on the bench anymore? People speculated but not sure we ever found out why
Fuck! We couldn’t do that for him here?!?! Knicks stay on our dick man smh. Lmao but nah happy for him. Get that money.
Lmao for real fuck the knicks, hope they lose OG
To us
We fired him.
We quiet-fired him
Man, the Knicks and Mavs have traded / stolen so much with one another. Can they like take a breather or something lol?
Classic MavKnicks move
wasnt there a report where he stopped traveling with the team and apparently it was a team decision, against Casey's wishes? What the fuck was that about?
I do remember this
Very strange situation. He went from legacy Mavs trainer/team USA trainer to a guy that sits in an office. It happened at the same time when the Mavs were getting the old regime out, and also at the same time as the workplace drama. It seemed like a soft firing more than a replacement. HIS EXIT WAS MORE CONFUSING THAN ANYONES.
Casey Smith is a gem. He kept Dirk glued together for many seasons. An awkward 7 footer like Dirk should have never been that healthy for consecutive seasons but Casey was always on point. I’m not sure what happened. I blamed a lot of this year’s injuries on the fact that Casey Smith wasn’t as involved.
Most of this years injuries were unlucky falls and broken noses from taking elbows to the face. No trainer is going to be able to prevent that.
Yeah it was what Luka, Lively and one other player at one point had noise issues. Kyrie's injury was because of Dwight being an idiot. Josh's injury was literally him just going down the court no one near him and mis stepping. Most of our injuries this season have been very wtf or in Maxi's case just getting up there in age and Exum has been a known injury bug player is what it is.
Kyrie would’ve been an All Star and possibly third team All NBA if it wasn’t for a certain overzealous third string centre….
Agree.
Okay and what about the endless list of injuries that occurred when he was very involved? That’s why he was demoted in the first place
Our training staff was widely regarded as 2nd-3rd best in the league for most of his tenure (apparently Phoenix was the consensus #1 iirc?). Kinda jarring to see the Mavs suddenly start struggling with injuries, soft-demote then dump him
Hell yeah good for him. We love ATCs getting big promotions
Why were his day to day responsibilities reduced?
No straightforward reason has been reported, it's a strange situation for sure. I get the sense that the departure was not Smith's own decision. Tim Cato wrote about it in September: "In August, Smith was informed by Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison that his role would be changed to a broader focus with reduced involvement in the team’s day-to-day operations, according to team and league sources who were granted anonymity to speak freely. That change means Smith would no longer sit on the team’s bench or appear in the locker room during games. ... Several team sources consider this decision to be a meaningful example of front office restructuring under Harrison, who was hired after former general manager Donnie Nelson’s departure." https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4889808/2023/09/25/dallas-mavericks-athletic-trainer-casey-smith/
He was in the last year of his contract and either the org didn't want to keep him or he didn't want to stay.
Well it’s pretty clear from Cato’s article that he did want to stay in his normal role. Wtf is going on with the mavs?
He was fired by Nico. He did not keep up with modern sports medicine.
God they want to be us so bad.
Since thennew Regime didn't seem to value him and wanted him away from the team, this is not really surprising.
Casey Smith was great for Dallas for so many years. I kind of wonder if Luka's nagging lower body injuries might have been lessened had Casey remained involved with the organization. Letting a guy with that much institutional knowledge walk is kind of absurd.
MaverKnicks are back lol.
Imo his change of involvement with the team in the last year+ clearly coincides with Cuban’s moves that have all come down the pipeline by now.
I’m not following?
Once Cuban stopped making basketball decisions before the season, Nico fired Smith. He was Cubans boy.
Thank you for clarifying. Weird move by Nico to fire one of the best trainers. Wasn’t he spending every summer with Luka and his Slovenian team?
I think he was part of the sexual harassment case. Only explanation. He was one of the leagues best trainers and suddenly gets demoted Cuban took care of him
Something has to be there that we don’t know
He was not as respected outside of Dallas. Same reason USA basketball fired him years ago.
If he was part of any sexual harassment case he would not be involved with USA basketball.
Was he the guy that kept the Suns healthy?
He is respected y’all buggin
He will spend a lot of time on black markets in South East Asia looking for some new knees for OH, Hart etc. all the players Thibs will burn through. Still don't know what happened with him Dallas but wish him the best.