Six months after the tumultuous tenure of Nico Harrison ended with a rare mid-season firing of an executive, it appears the Dallas Mavericks have found their replacement.
ESPN reported Monday that the Mavericks have hired former Toronto Raptors and Denver Nuggets executive Masai Ujiri to be Dallas’ new team president and alternate governor. The Dallas Morning News’ Mike Curtis confirmed that included as the team’s president of basketball operations as well. ESPN also reported that former majority
governor Mark Cuban was not involved in the process of hiring Ujiri.
Ujiri was the mastermind behind the Raptors’ 2019 championship run and won NBA Executive of the Year in 2012-2013. A press conference with Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont and Ujiri is scheduled for Tuesday in Dallas.
The hire users in a new era of Dallas basketball that fans and players have badly needed since the Luka Dončić trade over a year ago. Ujiri will come in with significantly more power than other GM hires in the league, being given the team president and alternate governor role. We’ll know more about exactly how vast his role will be following Tuesday’s press conference.
Ujiri was a name that also popped up in 2021 for the Mavericks following the dismissal of former GM, Donnie Nelson, but Dallas never considered him, opting for Harrison instead. Now, five years later, they get Ujiri and hand him the proverbial keys to the kingdom.
Ujiri will take over a team with no control of their first-round picks for the next four seasons, but does have their pick this season with the draft lottery on Sunday. He’ll have financial flexibility to bring in guys he likes after Dallas traded Anthony Davis and other undesirable contracts at the deadline this season.
It’s not immediately clear what this means for co-interim general managers Matt Ricardi and Michael Finley, but one thing is clear: Ujiri is Dallas’ main priority moving forward.
