Dallas Mavericks minority stakeholder Mark Cuban has asked newly appointed president Masai Ujiri to retain Michael Finley in the club’s basketball operations department, even as the organization reshapes its front office.
Finley’s status still in flux
Finley, a nine-year Maverick as a player and a front-office member since 2017, shared interim general-manager duties with Matt Riccardi after Nico Harrison was dismissed last fall. Riccardi is departing following the arrivals of Ujiri and new general manager Mike Schmitz, but no decision on Finley has been announced.
“He is our legacy guy,” Cuban said during a special edition of the House of Haymaker show with Ben Rogers and Jeff “Skin” Wade. “My strong recommendation is that you keep Michael Finley.”
According to Cuban, Ujiri thanked him for the input without indicating whether Finley—or other staff members—will stay.
During the same appearance, Cuban noted that Finley opposed the franchise’s Luka Dončić trade and added that Dirk Nowitzki was not on board with Harrison’s 2021 hiring.
Coaching search
On SiriusXM NBA Radio Tuesday, Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori said he has had only limited contact with Dallas about its head-coaching vacancy. Nori added he has held preliminary talks with the Trail Blazers and Bulls. A separate report Tuesday listed him as a finalist in Portland and stated that the Mavericks are interested in interviewing him as well.
Pre-draft workouts and outlook
The Mavericks hosted five prospects Wednesday: Obi Agbim (Baylor), Michael Ajayi (Butler), Christian Anderson (Texas Tech), Tucker DeVries (Indiana) and Wyatt Fricks (Marshall), according to The Dallas Morning News. Anderson, slotted 18th on ESPN’s big board, is viewed as the top prospect in that group.
Dallas owns the 9th, 30th and 48th selections in this month’s draft. Reporter Mike Curtis notes that past drafts in Denver and Toronto show Ujiri often targets versatile two-way wings, international players and score-first guards.
Source: Hoops Rumors
