Stein: Lefley s fracture caused athletic director & health director quarrels, and four people were cut

July 13, the Dallas Mavericks will hire former chief physical coach Geoff Puls, the Chicago Bulls. He parted ways with the Bulls after the 2023-24 season.

Due to the chaos and frequent injuries of the Mavericks last season, the Mavericks' medical and performance team was under great pressure. Eventually, four team members, including athletic performance director Keith Belton, were fired in May, including Calhoun, the chief athletic trainer who had served for 21 years.

It is understood that Calhoun was one of the last team doctors to remain in office after the Mavericks fired Casey Smith, a medical director who had been with the team for 20 years in the 2023-24 season.

According to famous reporter Stein, due to a stress fracture in his right foot in February, athletic performance director Keith Belton and player health director Johann Bilsborough broke out over how to deal with Levley's injury. This season is also the first season of the two working together in Dallas, but Bilsborough will continue to serve and serve as department leader.

Last season, the Mavericks missed 354 games due to injury, the second most in team history. Among them, Anthony Davis, Lefley and PJ Washington all aggravated or were injured again after returning with injuries or training, and then missed for a longer period of time. Lefley under Belton's supervision, and then suffered a stress fracture in his right ankle and was absent for three months.

It is reported that Belton joined the team last summer after the Mavericks fired Hallsople, who was longtime director of team athletic performance. He was a former NFL professional and served as Director of Football Performance at UCLA. But it is understood that Belton only has the NCAA certification certificate and has not obtained the certification of the National Fitness Association, which does not comply with the alliance regulations.