Mavs Re-Hiring Exec Michael Finley; Cuban Says 'Nico Is In Charge'
While Mark Cuban's involvement in his Dallas Mavericks is deep, the team owner reveals in an exclusive interview with DallasBasketball.com that his new GM will serve as the organization's basketball point man.
"Nico (Harrison) is in charge,'' Cuban tells us.
Cuban also confirmed the story broken by DallasBasketball.com during the Thursday press conference at the AAC to introduce Harrison and new head coach Jason Kidd, saying that assistant GM remains in the franchise's front-office picture. DBcom noted that Finley was not present at the presser, suggesting that his contract had run out. That does appear to have been the case.
However, Cuban says, Finley, the former Mavs standout player who has in the last seven years worked closely under the owner and now-ousted GM Donnie Nelson, still figures in the organizational chart.
"Yes,'' Cuban tells us. "He and Nico work closely together.''
On Wednesday, the Mavericks worked toward a new deal with Finley, with Marc Stein reporting that the “contract with the team … gives him an expanded role in their front office as assistant GM and vice president of player personnel alongside Harrison.
The Mavs are still putting together the pieces to complete both the front office and the coaching staff, as we learned that former Mavs favorites J.J. Barea and Tyson Chandler will be attending the Las Vegas Summer League with the team to test things out. Cuban will surely remain "The Decider,'' as our Mike Fisher writes here in his "Shadow GM'' column. But the owner suggests to us that moving the Mavs forward will be a collaborative effort.
“Nico, J-Kidd, Fin and I will share ideas. ... But Nico is in charge of how we approach it. ... That's going to be up to Nico.”
Mark Cuban will always be involved with the Mavs and have the final say on decisions, because in the end, as he mentioned on Thursday, it comes down to money, and he is the money man. However, at least here at the beginning of this new era, Cuban seems genuine and adamant about letting Nico Harrison do his thing unbothered, and that's a good thing for the Mavericks going forward.
Stay tuned to DallasBasketball.com later today for more exclusive content regarding the Mavs' free agency approach this offseason.
