Rumors

It is expected Ujiri will meet in coming days with Riccardi and Finley to determine if either remains with the organization.

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Finley and Riccardi interviewed with Dumont during the search process. Sources said Dumont informed both of them over the weekend that the franchise would hire someone else, expressing appreciation for their strong work under difficult circumstances this season. Their futures with the franchise will be determined after discussions with Ujiri.

ESPN

Along with considering internal candidates Finley and Riccardi, Dumont made it clear that the search has and will be extensive. He says he believes Dallas, as a dynamic city and top-four media market, is a draw for candidates, as is the potential for building around 6-9 Flagg’s multidimensional talents. Then he described the intangibles he wants. “They're going to set the tone for everything that we do from a basketball perspective,” he says. “We're looking for someone who can set the direction of our basketball team, put the right pieces in place to achieve our goals and set the right culture. “It's got to be a culture that will lead us to win championships and someone that can build that culture. “The other thing is, communication is key. Having the ability to communicate effectively across the organization, communicate with our fans and lead this basketball organization is going to be crucial.”

Dallas Morning News

Internal candidates Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley — Dallas’ co-interim general managers since Nico Harrison’s firing in November — are under consideration to get the job. But the Mavericks, league sources said, also have ambitions of going big-game hunting. Team governor Patrick Dumont successfully persuaded NBA Hall of Famer Rick Welts to come out of retirement to run the Mavericks’ business side in one of his first major moves in charge of the team. The Athletic has reported since February that Dumont will target experienced, proven talent to run Dallas’ basketball side, as well.

New York Times

Internal candidates Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley — Dallas’ co-interim general managers since Nico Harrison’s firing in November — are under consideration to get the job. But the Mavericks, league sources said, also have ambitions of going big-game hunting. Team governor Patrick Dumont successfully persuaded NBA Hall of Famer Rick Welts to come out of retirement to run the Mavericks’ business side in one of his first major moves in charge of the team. The Athletic has reported since February that Dumont will target experienced, proven talent to run Dallas’ basketball side, as well. But league insiders wonder if Dumont will be able to lure one of his top targets — and how he might pivot if he’s unsuccessful.

New York Times

Noah Weber: Michael Finley on why he feels ready to potentially take the jump to be the Mavericks’ GM: “I think I am Dallas. I’m everything Dallas is about. I played here, through the good times and the bad times, and as a fan of the Mavericks, I know what it takes and I know what the fans are looking for. So I would love to have the chance to lead this franchise into the future and to ultimately championship contenders.”

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Michael Finley: I respect your opinion . But get your facts right . But I love the energy

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DLLS Mavs: Mavs co-interim general manager Michael Finley talked to @kandc1053 about the infamous video of him taking a beer away from Luka Dončić: “I leave the court. I see number 77 standing over there having a beer, and I say, ‘Congratulations, young fella, you definitely deserve that beer.’ And he's like, ‘Thanks, man, thanks.’ I leave him. I go in the locker room. I celebrate with the rest of the team. We're having a great time. Champagne is being popped. Pictures are being taken and we're having a jolly old time. And I come out of the locker room and our social media department is, is frozen. I'm like, ‘What’s going on guys? What's wrong?’ They said, ‘We wanna take a picture of Luka and his dad.’ I said, ‘Well, take the picture. You guys are great at it, take the picture. They said, ‘But Luka’s holding a beer, he's drinking a beer.’ I said, ‘Well, go take the beer from him.’ They said, ‘What? We can't do that. I said, ‘OK, I'll do it.’ So when you watch the video, I go take the beer, I hug Luka again, and that's why Luka looked like, ‘Man, what are you doing? We just talked about this and you said it was cool.’”

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Ron Harrod Jr.: Mavs co-interim GM Michael Finley talked to @kandc1053 about Max Christie and Ryan Nembhard: “I saw Dirk make a tremendous jump in his game, but it was because of his summer development. And watching Max Christie from last year to this year and then coming into training camp, I saw it. I saw that he improved his body, he improved his game, and all that happened over the summer. “ On Nemby: “I'm a fan of the underdog. I'm a fan of the guys who have to make it to the NBA the untraditional way. And Ryan is a firm example of that. “He's had spot minutes with us early with the Mavericks, but then he took advantage of those minutes. And you have to tip your hat to a guy like that when given the opportunity, he made the most of it. And because of that, we wanna keep Ryan around.”

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Ron Harrod Jr.: Mavs co-interim GM Michael Finley told @1053thefan & @kandc1053 on the Mavs plan to build around Cooper Flagg: “From our vision we're trying to put the right pieces with Cooper. Not just people to be around him and give him the ball. And Cooper go be great and make us great. No, we have to put the right pieces around him that complement his game as well. I think it's our responsibility in the front office to identify a core group of young players that we believe in and help build the right system.”

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Now, the people who didn’t make the Dončić trade are left to clean up the mess. Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi are leading the front office on an interim basis, though Dumont has given them the autonomy to do the job as if they were full time, league sources said. Their direction is the only one that makes sense, given the unfortunate reality Harrison created. Break it down. Build around Cooper Flagg.

New York Times

What is the dynamic between Riccardi and Finley, who’ve become peers over the last four seasons, especially now that they’re sharing a job typically held by one person? “Our jobs haven’t changed,” Finley told The News. “We’re still doing what we were doing under our old boss. The vision hasn’t changed. We’re still trying to keep Dallas as one of the best franchises in the NBA. We’re just putting our own personality on it, so to speak.”

Dallas Morning News

From your perspective, when you look at Riccardi, Finley, Kidd, is there a preference there with how Dumont would value their opinions? Grant Afseth: I don't know if Jason Kidd's opinions value like clear cut more than everybody else. But I do know from a basketball standpoint, his opinions are valued quite a bit by the ownership group. And I know, Mark Cuban is providing input as well. I don't want to make that sound like Mark Cuban's the GM by any means, or Jason Kidd the GM or whatever. But I just know that while they're getting through this, it's really, really important that the head coach has alignment on what they're doing on the basketball court. So by default, you're going to have to rely on like not only is he respected, but you are by necessity going to have to get through, the season with his input value very heavily. So I think that's, probably, like, I don't want to say like he's clear cut, like more important voice wise than the interim GM, but his basketball input is very heavily valued.

Youtube

Also: The famed footage of Finley taking a celebratory beer away from Dončić after the Mavericks clinched a spot in the 2024 NBA Finals, meanwhile, never included a key element of the story: The drink was returned to Dončić and the celebrations continued as soon as he was out of public view in the hallway of the visitors' locker room in Minnesota.

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