The Dallas Mavericks are anxiously awaiting Monday's NBA Draft Lottery, as they are hoping to finally get some good news in the from a luck perspective after how disastrous these last few months have been for the organization. Fans are slowly seeing the behind-the-scenes events that led to mass dysfunction inside the organization this season unfold with each passing week.
In the most recent wave of news, Dallas fired athletic trainer Keith Belton after Belton nearly jeopardized Dereck Lively II's ankle stress fracture earlier this season with an aggressive return-to-play plan before an MRI was conducted. GM Nico Harrison and company also fired head athletic trainer Dionne Calhoun, even though there hasn't been anything leaked to the media discrediting Calhoun's acumen.
These moves are coming mere weeks after Harrison coined his athletic training staff as "elite" in his closed-door presser with select Dallas media. After suffering the most amount of games missed due to injury in the entire league last season, perhaps these changes were necessary, but Harrison telling white lies to the media in this situation is laughable.
Mavs should add a recently fired executive to check Harrison's power
Barring Harrison making two trades last deadline that are failing in colossal fashion, his answers to the media and fans in regard to his reasoning for making the trade haven't been justified whatsoever, and fans have been aggressive in wanting Harrison out of Dallas. While that wish may not be granted until if/when the Mavericks continue to lose games at a high clip, the organization can still impose some checks and balances on Harrison's power in the meantime.
A couple weeks ago, ESPN's Tim MacMahon said that Dallas may try to add an experienced executive into their front office for that very reason, and given some recent firings across the league, Dallas has their pick of the litter as far as adding someone who fits that description in their front office alongside Harrison.
Just within the last few months, there have been five prominent executives/GMs be fired across the NBA with James Jones, Monte McNair, Calvin Booth, David Griffin, and Landry Fields. Obviously, all of those executives were a part of disappointing seasons for their organizations, barring Booth, but that's not to say their voice wouldn't be welcomed in Dallas.
McNair won the NBA's Executive of the Year award just two seasons ago, Fields helped construct a near-contender in Atlanta around Trae Young a few years ago, Booth helped bring a title to Denver, Jones helped Phoenix reach the Finals in 2021, and Griffin built a very intriguing team in New Orleans around Zion Williamson before it fell apart due to injuries and a variety of other factors.
The point here is that Dallas really has a chance to shift gears if they can add an experienced name to their front office such as one of the aforementioned names above, as the Mavericks desperately need an executive who understands roster building as well as one that aims to recoup fair value in all trades, as Harrison clearly hasn't done that even though he's been a forward-facing figure that has good player relationships across the league from his days at Nike.
It may be difficult for Dallas to ink down one one of these top names on the executive market to pair alongside Harrison after he single-handily has made the Mavericks the laughingstock of the NBA for this season, but if one of these names were to be added to the Mavs' front office, it would be very intriguing to see how Harrison handles the diffusion of power.
Dallas desperately needs to check and balance Harrison's power after Patrick Dumont let his Doncic trade slip through the cracks, but finding an executive/GM that would work well in sync with Harrison could prove to be difficult because of Harrison's control tick, so hopefully the Mavericks can find someone Harrison reveres and respects even if it isn't one of these names who've been recently fired.
