Dallas Mavericks May Not Be Done Adding to Front Office After Masai Ujiri Hire

The Dallas Mavericks made the big splashy front office hire they were looking for on Monday, as it was announced that Masai Ujiri will take over as Team President and Alternate Governor. Although Governor Patrick Dumont made the mistake of a lifetime by letting Nico Harrison talk him into trading Luka Doncic, he's shown he's not afraid to open up the checkbook for elite executives.

By bringing in Ujiri, Dumont believes he's found a capable communicator who can build a strong overall culture. Ujiri crafted playoff rosters in 11 of his 15 seasons as a lead executive, winning a championship in 2019 with the Toronto Raptors. Winning matters more than anything.

However, the Mavericks may not be done adding to the front office. NBA insider Marc Stein revealed on Monday that "Among [Ujiri's] expected early moves will be naming a full-time GM to work alongside him..."

That can help create a natural checks-and-balances system that wasn't in place as Nico Harrison accrued more and more power throughout his tenure as the Mavs' lead executive from 2021 to 2025. This is a very important offseason for the Mavericks, as they hold a lottery pick that they can use to pair another young star with Cooper Flagg, but they also have a some assets they could use to get more draft capital, or they can bring in more veterans to help this roster.

May 15, 2018; Chicago, IL, USA; Dallas Mavericks Assistant Vice President of Basketball Operations Michael Finley during the 2018 NBA Draft Lottery at the Palmer House Hilton. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images | Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images

Names to Know for Mavericks General Manager Search

With Ujiri looking for a full-time general manager under him, you can scratch off some of the bigger names the Mavs were pursuing for their lead executive, such as Tim Connelly (who the Mavs wanted to look at, but they were never going to get approval from the Timberwolves) and Bob Myers.

However, they do employ two names who will get heavy consideration for this job: Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi. Marc Stein also reported that Ujiri is set to meet with both executives to see what their roles will be with the franchise moving forward.

Finley and Riccardi took over as co-interim GMs after Harrison's dismissal in November and performed as well as reasonably expected, pulling off the trade with the Washington Wizards to dump the future salaries of Anthony Davis, Jaden Hardy, and D'Angelo Russell, which gave them a level of financial flexibility that the Mavs have yet to see in the tax apron era, while also bringing in five total draft picks. Even if most of those picks turn out to be second-rounders, the Mavs needed more capital.

Riccardi is also set to represent the Mavs at the draft lottery in Chicago this weekend, but that was revealed before they hired Ujiri. We'll see if that changes, but he's a Plano, Texas native. He wants to be with the Mavs. Likewise, Finley played for the organization from 1996 to 2005, coming in as part of the original Jason Kidd trade.

Add us as a preferred source on Google