yahoo - 5/4/2026 7:06:33 PM - GMT (+2 )
Patrick Dumont swung for the fences and hit a home run.
The Dallas Mavericks governor announced the hiring of Masai Ujiri as the franchise’s new team president and alternate governor. It ends a six-month search with a splash, as Ujiri is one of the most accomplished front office executives in NBA history.
Ujiri spent 13 seasons in Toronto building the Raptors from afterthought to champion. The centerpiece of his tenure was obviously the 2019 NBA title, which was engineered by his bold moves. He traded franchise cornerstone DeMar DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard in the summer of 2018. Everyone thought he was crazy, but Toronto won the championship the following June.
Before the Raptors, Ujiri ran the Denver Nuggets' front office from 2010-2013 and was named the NBA’s Executive of the Year after assembling a 57-win roster. He is the only non-American ever to win the award.
Ujiri parted ways with Toronto in June 2025 after the Raptors missed the playoffs in four of five seasons. He joined the ownership group of the WNBA’s Toronto Tempo in March and made no secret he had unfinished business in the NBA.
"One of my main goals is to win another championship," Ujiri told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne earlier this year. "I want to win again so I can actually enjoy it."
Dallas gives him a chance.
Dumont fired GM Nico Harrison on Nov. 11 after the team stumbled to a 3-8 start in its first season following the Luka Doncic trade to the Los Angeles Lakers. Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi held things down as co-GMs for the rest of the season. In April, Dumont said publicly he wanted a new leader in place by mid-May.
The Mavericks finished the season with Cooper Flagg, the No.1 pick from the 2025 NBA Draft, already looking like a cornerstone to build on after a rookie of the year campaign. Dallas enters Sunday's NBA draft lottery with the eighth-best odds at another top pick in what projects to be a loaded class.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mavericks hire Masai Ujiri as new team president
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