Mavericks Reportedly Targeting Risk-Taking Executive for General Manager

The Dallas Mavericks may have their top priority in their GM search.

Oct 27, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; A view of the Dallas Mavericks logo at center court before the game between the Mavericks and the Oklahoma City Thunder at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks are looking for a new President of Basketball Operations/General Manager after they fired Nico Harrison in November, which was about 9 months too late. The team's biggest priority is getting that front office in place before too long, so they can start evaluating draft prospects, free agents, and more.

One name has apparently popped up as the priority target, per ESPN's Tim MacMahon on the "Howdy Partners" podcast: Tim Connelly. He is currently the President of Basketball Operations of the Minnesota Timberwolves, but Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont only wants the best of the best running his organization after the horrific disaster that was Nico Harrison. However, any chance of getting Connelly to be the GM seems very unlikely given the timeline.

"Tim Connelly is the primary target for the Dallas Mavericks. Tim Connelly is obviously an outstanding executive... He has a job. He had an out in his contract last year. He does not have an out in his contract [this year]," MacMahon said. "So, the Mavericks would need to get the Wolves' permission to even talk to him, much less hire him. At this point, I don't know what the likelihood of that is."

MacMahon also mentioned that he's not sure who Plan B is right now, even though it's unlikely the Timberwolves will give permission for the Mavs to speak to Connelly.

While Connelly has done a good job, it hasn't been without a fair amount of risks. He was tormented for making the Rudy Gobert trade, which sent the Utah Jazz four first-round picks and a pick swap. That gave the Jazz Keyonte George and Walker Kessler, as well as some other players, but that was a risky move.

He also traded an unprotected 2030 pick swap and a 2031 unprotected first-round pick to trade up for Rob Dillingham in the draft a few years ago, which blew up in their face. They were able to salvage it by packaging him with some second-round picks to get Ayo Dosunmu at this year's trade, who has been a great fit in Minnesota.

Sep 29, 2025; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly speaks to the media during media day at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images | Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

More Realistic Targets For Mavericks GM

As much as Patrick Dumont would like Tim Connelly, that is just entirely unrealistic as of now, especially if they want the hire made by mid-May. The Timberwolves are in the playoffs and won't want him to talk to anyone else anyway.

Some other candidates could be one of the Mavs' current co-interim setups with Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley. They were able to pull off the Anthony Davis trade with the Washington Wizards, which really helped the clear the books for the future.

Another option could be Dennis Lindsey, who was an advisor for the Mavs for the 2023-24 season, the year they went to the NBA Finals, and made two big trades that helped swing that run. He's the Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations with the Detroit Pistons, who have been one of the best teams in the NBA this year.

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