https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/44704219/inside-end-luka-doncic-era- 縮：https://reurl.cc/XAR3p0 Firings, 'cheerleader energy' and lost trust: What really led to the Luka Doncic trade 炒魷魚、須與委蛇的裝熟、逝去的信任：真正導致Luka被交易的原因 作者：Tim MacMahon DALLAS MAVERICKS' OFFICIALS and select staffers, past and present, packed the team's plane along with members of Dirk Nowitzki's inner circle. The flight was bound for Springfield, Massachusetts, in August 2023, to celebrate the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame induction of the most legendary figure in franchise history. Mavs general manager Nico Harrison made the trip. He wasn't especially close to Nowitzki, but their relationship dated more than two decades to when Harrison began his career at Nike as an NBA regional field representative based in Dallas. Casey Smith, Dallas' director of health and performance, was also part of the team's traveling party for the weekend. Nowitzki often credited Smith, who arrived in Dallas as the Mavs' head athletic trainer in 2004 and was promoted to the executive ranks 15 years later, for helping him extend his career to 21 seasons. Nowitzki trusted Smith implicitly, considering him one of his best friends. 2023年8月，達拉斯獨行俠隊的高層與職員，一同搭上球隊的專機，與Dirk Nowitzki的親友們前往麻州的斯普林菲爾德，參加Nowitzki入選名人堂的慶祝活動。 獨行俠總經理Nico Harrison也參加了這次旅程。雖然他和Nowitzki並不是特別親近，但兩人的交情可以追溯到20多年前，當時Harrison剛加入Nike，擔任駐達拉斯的NBA區域代表。 同樣同行的還有球隊的體能健康主管Casey Smith。 Nowitzki經常感謝Smith，認為是他幫助自己延長了21個賽季的球員生涯。Smith在2004年以球隊首席體能訓練師身份加入獨行俠，15年後晉升到高層，兩人之間的信任非常深厚，Nowitzki甚至將他視為最親密的朋友之一。 Others who joined them for the Hall of Fame festivities, which featured a pair of extravagant private parties organized by Nowitzki's longtime special projects manager Lara Beth Seager in addition to the Hall of Fame functions, don't recall anything seeming amiss that weekend in Springfield, when Harrison and Smith were each accompanied by their wives. What happened next began a series of behind-the-scenes decisions that have had massive ramifications for the Mavs during this shocking, drastically disappointing, injury-riddled season in Dallas. Interviews with more than a dozen team and league insiders reveal that while the Luka Doncic era officially ended on Feb. 2, it truly began to disintegrate, along with the franchise's culture, 18 months earlier, the summer before the generational talent led the Mavs to the NBA Finals. A few days after returning to Dallas' Love Field from the Hall of Fame event, when the franchise that had endured a frustrating, losing season was on a high from honoring Nowitzki, Harrison informed Smith that they needed to meet. 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. 「暗潮洶湧的夏天」-早在2023年的夏天就開始了 當時還有其他人一同前往參加名人堂活動。除了正式典禮之外，Nowitzki的私人企劃秘書Lara Beth Seager還策劃了兩場盛大的私人派對。 當時在斯普林菲爾德，大家並沒有察覺到什麼異常。那個週末，Harrison和Smith都帶著自己的妻子同行，氣氛看起來一切正常。 然而，隨後發生的事情，卻引爆了一連串幕後決策，對這個賽季的獨行俠隊造成了巨大的衝擊 —— 這個充滿傷病、表現慘澹、令人震驚且極度失望的賽季。 根據超過十幾位球隊內部人士與聯盟消息來源的訪談，雖然Luka Doncic正式被交易是在2025年2月2日，但事實上，獨行俠隊的文化崩壞與Doncic時代的終結，早在18個月前、Doncic帶領球隊殺進總冠軍賽的前一個夏天，就已經悄悄開始了。 在從名人堂活動返回達拉斯幾天後，當時球隊還沉浸在替Nowitzki致敬的喜悅中，Harrison通知Smith說需要見個面。 但Smith回覆，自己無法當面會議，因為他已經趕回家鄉俄亥俄州，陪伴生命垂危的母親度過最後的時光。於是，Harrison改成安排了一場視訊會議。 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. "He was 100 percent threatened by him," a team source told ESPN, referring to Harrison's concern that Smith's voice carried too much weight with the franchise. "He's going to show that I'm in charge and nobody else can question that." It was a stunning first step in Harrison's overhaul of the team's health and performance group over the past two offseasons. Smith's unceremonious departure was followed by the dismissals of athletic performance director Jeremy Holsopple and manual therapist Casey Spangler in June, only days removed from Dallas' appearance in the NBA Finals. 「如何清理門戶？ 在別人參加葬禮時解僱他-by Nico 」 在那場視訊會議中，Smith被正式告知，達拉斯已經不需要他了，結束了自己在球隊近20年的職業生涯。 據了解內部討論情況的消息人士透露，Smith被解僱的原因是被認為「太負面」，但這種模糊的說法，更多被解讀為：Smith不夠聽話，不是那種只會奉承的應聲蟲。 一位球隊內部人士告訴ESPN：「Harrison完全是被Smith威脅到了。」 這位人士指出，Harrison擔心Smith在球隊內部的實質影響力太大，「他想表明自己才是老大，其他人不可以質疑他。」 這成為了Harrison近兩個休賽季大刀闊斧重組球隊健康與表現部門的震撼第一步。 在Smith被低調、毫無價值地遣散之後，短短幾個月內，又有兩位重要人員被解雇 —— 包括體能表現總監Jeremy Holsopple與徒手治療師Casey Spangler。這兩人的離開，發生在獨行俠打完NBA總決賽的僅幾天後。 "You bringing up Casey [Smith] is like almost, it's kind of a joke," Harrison said Tuesday during an availability with selected Dallas-based reporters. "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." Sources told ESPN that the frigid dynamic between Doncic's camp -- led by agent Bill Duffy and Seager, who became Doncic's business manager after being introduced to him by Nowitzki -- and Harrison and his new staff factored into the GM's stunning decision to trade Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis in February. Smith, Holsopple and Spangler were all longtime Mavs employees who had helped Doncic, a Slovenian who spent his adolescence in Spain, make the major cultural transition after coming to Dallas as a teenager. They had become confidantes for the superstar, but sources said Harrison saw them as "enablers" of Doncic, despite them being immensely respected by their peers throughout the league. Holsopple was the NBA's Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year in 2021, and Smith's tenure as Team USA's head athletic trainer included the 2008 and 2012 Olympic gold medal runs. 在週二的一場限定給達拉斯當地媒體的受訪中，Harrison談到這件事時說： 「你們提到Smith，我覺得……你們在講什麼幹話。」Harrison表示，「去年他就已經不在球隊了，我們還是打進了總冠軍賽。去年可沒有人提起他，所以今年再拿他出來講，真的沒什麼道理。他已經離開兩年了，所以……我不打算再多做評論。」 根據ESPN的消息來源指出，Doncic陣營（由經紀人Bill Duffy和後來擔任Doncic商業經理人的Lara Beth Seager領導 —— Seager是透過Nowitzki介紹給Doncic認識的）與Harrison及其新組建的管理團隊之間，早已出現極度冷淡、互不信任的關係。 這種緊張對立，成為今年2月總經理Harrison震撼做出決定 —— 將Doncic交易到洛杉磯湖人，換取Anthony Davis 的重要推手之一。 被視為Doncic陣營親近成員的Smith、Holsopple和Spangler，其實都是在獨行俠工作多年的老臣。他們在Doncic從斯洛維尼亞（童年大多在西班牙度過）來到達拉斯成為職業球員時，幫助他克服了巨大的文化適應挑戰。這三人也逐漸成為Doncic重要的私人心腹與依靠。 不過，消息人士透露，Harrison認為這三人是「縱容Doncic」的人，即使他們在NBA圈內一直被高度尊敬。 舉例來說，Holsopple曾在2021年獲選為NBA年度體能訓練師，而Smith則曾擔任美國國家隊首席體能訓練師，並隨隊參加了2008年與2012年兩屆奧運金牌賽事。 (我發現如果複製原文會造成文章太長，以下就不貼原文了） Harrison表示：「我們認為接替他們的人表現得非常出色。」 「再說一次，你們是從負面的角度來看待這件事，但我從正面的角度來看。我認為我們找來的新團隊更好。」 然而，消息人士透露，Harrison新聘的健康與體能部門主管 —— Johann Bilsborough（球員健康與表現總監-取代Smith）與Keith Belton（體能表現總監）之間的內部運作，其實存在不少問題。這些意見衝突在賽季期間不斷浮現，尤其隨著獨行俠球員傷病不斷累積，更加嚴重。 本季獨行俠甚至沒有聘請專業的徒手治療師。 到了賽季末段，球隊一度面臨湊不齊最低出賽人數（8人）的窘境，戰績一度跌破五成，最終以39勝43敗勉強搶下西區最後一個附加賽席次。 此外，Harrison開除Smith的決定，以及他處理這件事的方式，也讓Nowitzki與球隊徹底疏遠。 消息人士表示，過去自豪地將整個職業生涯奉獻給獨行俠的Nowitzki，現在形容自己只是個「獨行俠球迷」，並在Smith被逼走之後，選擇不再參與球隊籃球事務的運作。 過去，Nowitzki曾擔任Mark Cuban的資深顧問，在達拉斯時，他經常參與球隊練球，並提供戰術與運營上的意見。 根據ESPN的消息來源，Smith被開除，也間接導致了獨行俠隊籃球公關副總裁Scott Tomlin的離職。 Tomlin在獨行俠工作了20年，是球隊內部公認和Smith、Nowitzki、Doncic等人都交情深厚的重要成員。 離開球隊後，Tomlin接受了另一份邀約，成為DN Companies與Dirk Nowitzki基金會的執行董事。 對於這些變動，Harrison在週二受訪時表示： 「我的責任是對達拉斯獨行俠負責。」 「做出對球隊最有利的決定，這才是最重要的。當然，有些決定可能不受歡迎，也許Nowitzki不喜歡，也許球迷不喜歡，但我的義務就是對球隊負責。」 自從今年2月初以來，Nowitzki和Tomlin只一起出席過兩場NBA比賽： 2月10日，Doncic在洛杉磯湖人隊的首次登場 4月9日，Doncic重返達拉斯比賽 在最近一次出席自己基金會的「Campus 41」Podcast節目時，Nowitzki（他婉拒了ESPN的專訪邀請）用德語表示： 「過去一年，你已經可以感覺到球隊在走向一條不同的路。」 「而現在，我們正在看到這樣的結果。」 ----- Sent from JPTT on my iPhone -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc), 來自: 49.216.193.104 (臺灣) ※ 文章網址: https://webptt.cc/bbs/NBA/M.1745293038.A.5BF.html