The Dallas Mavericks have dismissed several training staff members, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. The move follows a season riddled with injuries that ultimately kept the Mavericks out of the playoffs following an NBA Finals appearance.
According to the report, the dismissals include head athletic trainer Dionne Calhoun and athletic performance director Keith Belton. The Mavericks declined to comment on the changes.
Belton was hired by Mavericks General Manager Nico Harrison last summer, while Calhoun had been with the Mavericks for 21 years and was one of the remaining members of former head athletic trainer Casey Smith’s staff. According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, Belton did not have either of the required certifications to be an NBA strength coach and was described as a “glorified cheerleader.”
Belton was involved in an altercation involving the director of player health and performance, Johann Bilsborough, following Dereck Lively’s foot injury. Lively went through a vigorous return-to-play workout under Belton’s supervision. Bilsborough urged Belton to have Lively get a CT scan that revealed he had an ankle stress fracture. The altercation between the two was described as “loud” and “heated,” but never got physical.
The dismissals shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, especially after this reporting was revealed six days after Nico Harrison sat at a hand-selected media roundtable and defended his training staff on how they handled Lively’s injury.
The Mavericks had an injury-plagued season from start to finish, leading the league in wins missed due to injury. Even if the reporting on the previously mentioned altercation was never made public, changes needed to be made due to the mismanagement of injuries that lasted all season.
Calhoun’s dismissal just further drives home the point that Harrison wants new faces in his regime, while Belton’s dismissal appears to be from the public heat the Mavericks faced following the report on how he handled Lively’s injury. Both of these point to the fact that Harrison is a reckless decision-maker as the franchise continues to unravel following his decision to trade Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Allowing a trainer who is not officially certified to make decisions on the health of this team should be a fireable offense, especially considering how it turned out for Dallas.
Dallas is attempting to right the wrongs they created that resulted in a season that none of us want to remember, but are delaying the inevitable of continuing to let poor decision-makers be in a position of power.