The Dallas Mavericks fired director of health Johann Bilsborough on Monday, marking four straight years of changes in a department that has plagued this franchise.
The Dallas Mavericks wasted no time once the season ended. One day after closing out a 26-56 campaign, the franchise dismissed director of health and performance Johann Bilsborough on Monday, first reported by ESPN's Tim MacMahon. It marks the fourth consecutive year Dallas has made a significant change in that department, and it is the latest sign that the organization is still working to undo the damage left behind by former general manager Nico Harrison.
This is not a standalone decision. It is part of a broader housecleaning effort that started the moment Harrison was fired 11 games into this season. Bilsborough was one of his hires, brought in to replace Casey Smith, the franchise's longtime director of health, who was let go in August 2023 after more than two decades with the organization. That decision set off a chain reaction that the Mavericks are still dealing with today.
Coach Jason Kidd addressed the injury problem directly during his exit interview on Sunday.
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"That's something that has been a problem here for the last couple of years," Kidd said. "Hopefully, we can solve that and then be judged. For coaching. For playing. That's fair." It was a pointed acknowledgment that the health and performance department has failed to keep this roster on the floor, and that nobody can fairly evaluate this team until that changes.
The numbers back Kidd up. Kyrie Irving missed the entire season recovering from a torn ACL. Dereck Lively II was lost for extended stretches with a foot injury. Daniel Gafford dealt with an ankle issue that lingered all season. At various points this season, Dallas was without multiple starters at once, and the losses piled up.
Another report by MacMahon in 2025 noted that Bilsborough never earned Doncic's trust or respect, which only deepened the rift between the star and the organization. Smith, meanwhile, landed with the New York Knicks and won the National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association's Training Staff of the Year award in his first season there, the same award he had won with Dallas in back-to-back seasons in 2021 and 2022.
The pattern since Smith's departure has been consistent. Jeremy Holsopple was fired as strength and conditioning coach in 2024 and later joined the Los Angeles Lakers. Keith Belton was fired as athletic performance director in 2025 after just one season. Bilsborough is now out after two.
The Mavericks say the decision was about wanting a fresh start and a new ideology in the health and performance group. With Kyrie Irving returning from a torn ACL next season and Cooper Flagg entering his second year, getting this next hire right carries real stakes. The replacement will not be named until after Dallas fills its lead basketball operations executive role, a position Governor Patrick Dumont hopes to have in place by mid-May.