A depressing season of Dallas Mavericks basketball has led to the team’s nascent search for a new general manager. The initial reports on that search are also depressing.
Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix reported on Tuesday that the Mavericks had Oklahoma City Executive Vice President and GM Sam Presti, Boston Celtics president Brad Stevens and Minnesota Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly at the top of their wish list. NBA insider Marc Stein on Wednesday morning added San
Antonio Spurs CEO R.C. Buford to that list.
Stein reported that the word longshot does not go far enough to describe the possibility of luring Presti, Buford or Stevens away from their current posts. He left the door a little more open for the possibility of the Mavs’ attracting Connelly from Minnesota after the 2025-26 season ends, while noting that the Timberwolves “are said to be eager to hammer out a long-term extension with Connelly after back-to-back trips to the Western Conference finals.”
Former Golden State Warriors executive Bob Myers is another name that has bubbled to the surface as talk of potential general manager candidates begins to swirl. The Mavs likely won’t start the search in earnest until the end of the regular season in two weeks. Myers, after a stint at ESPN, is now the president of Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, which provides consultation services for professional sports front offices the world over, including the New Jersey Devils (NHL), Crystal Palace Football Club (EPL) and the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers. Stein characterized the possibility of hiring Myers away from this lucrative position as another longshot among longshots. Myers has reportedly already declined offers from the Phoenix Suns and Atlanta Hawks, but he and Mavs CEO Rick Welts are tight from their days together with the Warriors.
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ top executive Koby Altman’s name is also in the mix, per Mannix.
Spoiler alert, Mavs fans. None of these people will be Dallas’ next general manager. One of the things that gives me the most confidence in saying this is another little note from Stein’s reporting. He reported last week that the Mavericks has not hired an external search form for the right candidate. His latest reporting said explicitly that team Governor Patrick Dumont is the “point person” for the Mavs’ current GM search.
Organizationally, that makes sense. The hire would essentially be working under Dumont. But the most talented and savvy executives in the league aren’t going to want to work under the most un-serious owner in professional sports. An offer from the Mavericks will be an easy one to shrug off, despite the promise of Cooper Flagg and a roster ready to be turned over, molded and shaped by whoever takes the post. These aren’t people you can just money whip into submission, as Dumont and the ownership group headed by Miriam Adelson are used to doing in the casino game.
Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi took over the team’s front office as co-interim general managers when Nico Harrison was fired on Nov. 11. Finley reportedly took the opportunity on Mar. 19 at the Mavs Ball Gala to stump for the position, saying, “I think I am Dallas. I’m everything Dallas is about. I played here, through the good times and the bad times, and as a fan of the Mavericks, I know what it takes and I know what the fans are looking for. So I would love to have the chance to lead this franchise into the future and to, ultimately, championship contenders.”
Finley was recently prodded by a local sports radio station about the incident involving him taking a beer out of the hand of Luka Dončić following a 2024 playoff win. He took that opportunity to explain, saying, “[The Mavericks’ social media team] said, ‘We want to take a picture of Luka and his dad.’ I said, ‘Well, take the picture. You guys are great at it, take the picture.’ They said, ‘But Luka is holding a beer. He’s drinking a beer.’ I said, ‘Well, go take the beer from him.’ They said, ‘What? We can’t do that.’ I said, ‘Okay. I’ll do it.'”
Welts reiterated on Tuesday that the team hopes to have the new GM installed before the 2026 NBA Draft.
“That’s in the eye of the beholder and there’s no specific set of characteristics,” Welts told the Dallas Morning News. “I can tell you there’s a variety of candidates, which present very different personalities, very different track records. It’s the most important decision that the organization’s going to make for the coming season. So we’re going to take our time with it.”
