Almost six weeks after the Dallas Mavericks fired general manager Nico Harrison — the architect of last year’s infamous Luka Dončić trade — the team remains unlikely to name his permanent successor for several more months, according to league sources.
As the Feb. 5 trade deadline draws closer, it is viewed as a near-certainty that co-interim general managers Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi will remain in place for most — or all — of this season. The Mavericks, league sources said, are comfortable with that pairing in charge through the trade deadline. The Mavs will likely wait until this spring to move forward with their GM search and select from the widest possible pool of candidates.
The Mavericks’ front office is expected to field offers on Anthony Davis and other veteran players in the coming weeks. However, as The Athletic reported on Dec. 15, Dallas has signaled a desire to remain competitive around 2025 No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg for the rest of this season. Since the 32-year-old Davis returned from a left calf strain in late November, the Mavericks have a 5-2 record with him in the lineup and have earned quality wins over the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons.
Finley and Riccardi are under consideration to fill the permanent job, but league sources told The Athletic that the Mavericks will value previous experience as a lead NBA executive after how poorly the final 10 months of Harrison’s tenure went. In February, Harrison traded Dončić for what was widely viewed as an underwhelming return and then swapped Quentin Grimes and a second-round pick for Caleb Martin, who has fallen out of Dallas’ rotation this season (Grimes is now a key reserve for Philadelphia).
In July, the Mavericks signed D’Angelo Russell in free agency with the hopes that he could help fill a gaping hole at point guard — an idea coach Jason Kidd was clearly not on board with.
Finley, a 15-year NBA veteran who’s now in his 12th season in Dallas’ front office, was the Mavericks’ assistant general manager and vice president of player personnel before Harrison’s firing. Riccardi, who came to Dallas in 2022 from the Brooklyn Nets, where he spent 13 years, was the Mavericks’ assistant general manager for three seasons. Riccardi’s time in Brooklyn included a three-year stint as GM of the Long Island Nets, the team’s G League affiliate.
In November, The Athletic reported that Pistons executive Dennis Lindsey could potentially replace Harrison. Lindsey had a successful nine-year run as the Utah Jazz’s GM from 2012 to 2021 and worked for the Mavericks in an advisory role during the 2023-24 season, when they made a run to the NBA Finals.
Whether the Mavericks promote from within or go outside the organization for their full-time GM, a decision isn’t likely to come any time soon, league sources said.