Following the NBA’s trade deadline on Thursday, co-general managers Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi were able to speak with the media about the deadline. Unlike last year, when Nico Harrison spewed “defense wins championships” at the media for 15 minutes, the duo was able to provide an interesting perspective on where they see the organization as being after the Anthony Davis trade. Beyond that, I think there’s an interesting tidbit about how the Mavericks will approach this upcoming draft. To the quotes!
Opening statement
Michael Finley: Well first, I want to thank Anthony Davis, Jaden Hardy, Dante Exum and D’Angelo Russell for their professionalism while they were with the Mavericks. Both on and off the court, in the community, those guys were great. So, kudos to those guys and good luck to them in their future endeavors.
We decided as an organization, front office and management, that we needed to something to bring back the winning culture here in Dallas. We thought doing the move that we did puts us back in that conversation, and gives the fans something to be excited about. And I think we’re moving in the right direction by doing the move we did, it puts us in the mindset of having a championship atmosphere around here. That’s what it’s all about, and I think we’ve achieved that with the move we just did. And we will continue to do that, and do what we think is best for the organization this day, and going forward as well.
Matt Riccardi: I echo a lot of Fin’s thoughts. But most importantly, thank you to the players, and we’re excited for the new guys coming in. Just to expand on one of Fin’s points, I think we had to take an honest look at ourselves in the mirror and realize where we were and where we wanted to be. Sometimes, the path is not straightforward, and you’ve got to go a roundabout way to get where we want to go. But our goal here remains the same. We want to win championships, we want to build a championship roster, and we want to do everything we can to provide the players with the proper resources and the staff to make that happen.
Not a ton here to digest, although I think Riccardi’s quotes are telling about how the organization looked in the mirror and didn’t like what they saw. Admitting that they’re going in a “roundabout way” to get where they want to go is as close as anyone will get to saying they’re eyeing a higher draft pick. That’s a good thing! This is the most hopeful statement they could’ve given after this deadline.
On the Mavericks offense (27th in the NBA) and how it correlates with the lack of guard play
Finley: If you look around the league, the teams that are most successful have great guard play. Someone who can lead the offense, get the guys in the right position to make easier shots. And for us, I think guard play is as important, because it’s less pressure and stress that we can put on Cooper offensively. So, if we can get him with a guy that makes his job just a little bit easier, I think it does wonders for him, hopefully for his whole career.
If you’re looking for potential easter eggs about how this front office would build the roster out if they were given the keys full time, this statement is very telling. Finley talking about pairing Cooper Flagg with a guard “for his whole career” is something that I’m going to file away when June comes around. It’s clear this front office understands the NBA in ways that Nico Harrison didn’t, which was ultimately his demise. You must have great guard play to be a contender in today’s NBA. It’s a non-starter when building a team out, and this front office gets that.
These two quotes should inspire confidence that the Mavericks would be just fine with these two at the helm. Finley and Riccardi are widely respected around the NBA, and their understanding of doing what is best for the long-term future of the team should make you feel hopeful for the future.
The full press conference can be seen below.
