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New Dallas Mavericks team president Masai Ujiri\u00a0addresses an introductory news conference on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Dallas.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Remember when Eddie Chiles fired Don\u00a0Zimmer, then asked him to manage the Rangers for three more games because, well, he was Eddie Chiles?\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Masai Ujiri<\/a> can top that.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Mavs\u2019 new president ran Toronto\u2019s draft last year a month after he\u2019d been canned.\u00a0<\/p>\n Get this: He asked if he could stay, and the Raptors\u2019 brass was like, sure, why not? Makes you think the\u00a0Mavs<\/a> might have gotten the right man at that.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, it says something that\u00a0Ujiri would not only want to stay on, but also found a defensive gem in Collin\u00a0Murray-Boyles with the ninth pick<\/a>. He might have been their best big man in the playoffs this spring. I mean, if they\u2019d just fired me, and they were foolish enough to let me back in the building, I\u2019d have traded the pick for Dwight Powell. But, again, that\u2019s me.\u00a0<\/p>\n Make Dallas News a preferred source so your search results prioritize writing by actual people, not AI.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n An even better testimonial to\u00a0Ujiri\u2019s character: The Raptors were only too happy to keep him around a little longer.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Keith\u00a0Pelley, CEO of the enterprise that owns the Raptors, explained it this way to reporters last year, calling the draft, in particular, Ujiri\u2019s \u201cpassion\u201d and \u201cexpertise.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe were grateful to have him as the person . . . leading our draft,\u201d\u00a0Pelley added.\u00a0<\/p>\n If they liked him so much, it might make you wonder why they fired him. Drafting is sort of a big deal for\u00a0NBA teams. So important that it\u2019s one of the reasons Patrick Dumont hired Ujiri and his general manager, Mike Schmitz, in the first place. This summer\u2019s draft is considered even better than last year\u2019s. At nine, the same place he found Murray-Boyles, Ujiri needs to pick someone who will make at least as much of an impact on the Mavs as Murray-Boyles made on the Raptors in his rookie season.\u00a0<\/p>\n Speaking of which: Bummer that the\u00a0Mavs’ lottery pick didn\u2019t fall in the top six, where they were sure to get one of the top point guards in the draft. They may still get a good one at nine, but he\u2019ll likely come with a caveat. Like Louisville\u2019s Mikel Brown Jr. Our Tim Cowlishaw vouches for him<\/a>, and there\u2019s a lot to like. Just the same, a 20-year-old with a bad back gives me the willies.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Anyway, the reason the Raptors fired\u00a0Ujiri? Not exactly clear nearly a year later. Pelley, who called it his decision, said it was simply time for a change. Toronto has made the playoffs just three times since winning it all in 2019. Didn\u2019t get past the first round in two of those trips.\u00a0<\/p>\n Toronto\u2019s recent playoff flops might have had something to do with\u00a0Kawhi Leonard leaving for his hometown of Los Angeles after his one-and-done season north of the border. Ujiri famously traded DeMar DeRozan to the Spurs to get Leonard. Even if he was just a rental, it was worth it.\u00a0<\/p>\n Flags fly forever, right?\u00a0<\/p>\n Toronto\u2019s lack of playoff success since then, however, no doubt played a part in\u00a0Ujiri\u2019s dismissal. He didn\u2019t do a great job managing the Raptors\u2019 salary cap, either.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Though it might have been his salary that offended Toronto\u2019s owners more than any of the players\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n Back in 2021, when\u00a0Ujiri signed an extension that reportedly made him the NBA\u2019s highest-paid executive at $15 million a year, one of the organization\u2019s big shots, Edward Rogers, chairman of Rogers Communications, reportedly called to tell him he wasn\u2019t worth the money. Ujiri was so offended, according to the Toronto Star, he considered taking a year off.\u00a0<\/p>\n The good news is, where Dumont comes from, money piles up on tables. Paying\u00a0Ujiri won\u2019t be an issue. Nor should it. By any measure, he\u2019s a significant upgrade at the position.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hiring someone who\u2019s won a title doesn\u2019t guarantee he\u2019ll do the same for you, but it\u2019s the way to bet. The\u00a0Mavs tried a shoe salesman, and look what that got them.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In sports, as in trail guides, it\u2019s recommended to go with someone who\u2019s been where you\u2019re trying to get.\u00a0<\/p>\n The\u00a0Mavs also wanted someone who could be the face of the franchise, a job previously held by Mark Cuban. They got just that in Ujiri, the rare front-office executive with a big personality. So big, in fact, that he made himself a celebrity in Toronto.\u00a0<\/p>\n One report after his dismissal even called him \u201cbeloved\u201d for promising, then delivering, Canada\u2019s first and only\u00a0NBA title<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Front-office types have come and gone in my 40-plus years at\u00a0SportsDay, but I can\u2019t recall any who might be termed \u201cbeloved.\u201d Jim Nill<\/a> is a world-class nice guy. Tom Grieve, too. Same with Norm Sonju. But beloved? I wouldn\u2019t go that far with any of them.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Wouldn\u2019t even walk next to some, at least not within a stone’s throw of the public.\u00a0<\/p>\n