Mavericks hire former Raptors executive Masai Ujiri as president and alternate governor

DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Mavericks hired former Toronto Raptors executive Masai Ujiri as team president and alternate governor on Monday, the latest step in moving on from the Luka Doncic trade that ended up being a significant setback for the club.

Ujiri was in charge of the Raptors when they acquired Kawhi Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs and won the 2018-19 NBA title in Leonard’s only season with Toronto.

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The 55-year-old Ujiri replaces Nico Harrison, who was fired as general manager in November. That was nine months after Dallas acquired oft-injured center Anthony Davis from the Los Angeles Lakers in the deal for Doncic, a generational star in his prime.

Ujiri was with the Raptors for 13 seasons before getting fired as president and vice chairman last June. He was first hired as executive vice president and general manager.

The club said Ujiri would be in charge of all aspects of basketball operations while working with team leadership on the long-term direction of the Mavericks.

“Masai Ujiri is one of the great basketball leaders of this generation and his addition to our franchise is a critical step in meeting our goals,” Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont said. “We welcome his energy and determination along with his leadership, experience and many accomplishments as a basketball executive.”

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Former Dallas guard Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi had served as co-general managers since Harrison was fired. They engineered the trade of Davis to Washington in February after injury limited him to 29 games over parts of two seasons.

Ujiri inherits a new face of the franchise in Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 overall pick last summer. The Mavericks landed Flagg in the draft lottery despite just a 1.8% chance to get the top pick. Dallas has a 6.7% chance in this year’s lottery.

The Mavericks could emerge as playoff contenders despite missing the postseason the past two years following a run to the 2024 NBA Finals behind Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Dallas lost to Boston in five games.

If Ujiri keeps Irving, the Mavericks will have a pair of one-and-done Duke alums in him and…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/mavericks-hire-former-raptors-executive-165707814.html

Author : SCHUYLER DIXON

Publish date : 2026-05-04 16:57:00

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