Only good things happen when owners take a hands-on approach to roster decisions. Just ask Knicks and Kings fans.
Anthony Davis will miss his seventh straight game Wednesday night when Dallas hosts Phoenix, and his return date is up in the air as Dallas Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont has requested medical information that Davis is not at risk of aggravating the calf strain that has had him out, reports Tim MacMahon at ESPN.
[Davis] originally targeted his return for Saturday’s road game against the Washington Wizards, but there was a disagreement between Mavs director of health and performance Johann Bilsborough and Davis’ personal medical staff on whether that was prudent, sources said. Davis was held out after Dumont sided with Bilsborough, preferring to err on the side of caution, sources said.
One can understand Dumont’s caution here. Players are often the worst judges of how fast they can return (especially from soft tissue injuries) — they are in the NBA in part because they believe they can overcome anything. While Davis has a personal medical staff, he pays them. The team is likely to be more cautious with players it has invested tens of millions of dollars in.
As noted by MacMahon, Dumont’s decision against Washington likely was in part tied to his growing lack of trust in now-fired general manager Nico Harrison. Also in Dumont’s mind is the fact that last season, when the Mavericks acquired Davis in the Luka Doncic trade, he was sidelined with an abdominal injury. Davis rushed back from that injury in the wake of all the criticism of the trade, only to aggravate it in his first game back, which kept him out for another six weeks.
That said, the idea of an owner becoming more hands-on in basketball decisions or medical decisions is concerning. Dumont needs to do a serious search, eventually hire a new GM with a long-term plan, then get out of his way.
