Patrick Dumont Optimistic About Mavs' Future With 'Generational Talent' Cooper Flagg

Dumont announced the franchise will begin an aggressive search for a new president of basketball operations Monday, targeting a mid-May hire. The position has been vacant since Nico Harrison's dismissal on November 11 following a 3-8 season start. Acting co-general managers Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley have managed basketball operations since and are considered internal candidates. Monday morning, we're going to get active, and we're going to talk to a lot of people, Dumont said. Our goal is to have someone on board by the middle of May. Dumont outlined his priorities for the role, stressing culture and communication alongside basketball acumen. They're going to set the tone for everything that we do from a basketball perspective, he said. It's got to be a culture that will lead us to win championships and someone that can build that culture. Sports Illustrated reported Dumont is targeting high-profile candidates including Oklahoma City Thunder vice president Sam Presti and Boston Celtics president Brad Stevens. Dumont declined to confirm names, citing league tampering rules. I can't talk to any of those people now because it would be tampering. So anything that you may have heard is just rumor and chatter, he said. We'll figure out who's a great leader. Who has a track record. Who knows how to work with young players and develop them. The presidential search runs parallel to a July 1 deadline to select a site for a new basketball-specific arena and 50-acre entertainment district. Dallas has narrowed options to the former Valley View Mall tract in North Dallas and a downtown location. Dumont cited Golden State's 1.4 billion Chase Center as the benchmark. I think Chase Center is definitely the leading benchmark, just because of the experience it provides to fans, he said. The in-game experience, the viewing angles from seats. The amenities that it has. On the February 2025 Luka Doncic trade and the franchise's difficult year, Dumont accepted responsibility. When expectations aren't met, we really have to take a critical look at everything we're doing, he said. I really believe this is an extremely important offseason for this franchise. We're going to work tirelessly to get things right. Minority owner Mark Cuban said in a late-March podcast that he regrets selling to the Adelson-Dumont families. Dumont responded diplomatically. Mark is really passionate about the Mavericks, and I think that's great, Dumont said. I think he's really, really frustrated about the year that the team has had. And I understand that frustration. I consider Mark a friend. And look, I always appreciate his thoughts. And I appreciate his frustration. But one thing I do want to say, in terms of ownership, I think we've been really clear: We're not moving the team to another city. The team is not for sale. We're going to continue to invest in this franchise. We're going to build a new home for the team, and hopefully in the long term we'll be able to celebrate that success for many years.