DHJ Quick Take: Mark Cuban Says He Urged Masai Ujiri to Keep Michael Finley
Mark Cuban says he personally recommended that new team president Masai Ujiri retain Michael Finley, calling him the Dallas Mavericks’ connection to its past.
- What did Cuban recommend to Ujiri? He told Ujiri to keep Michael Finley, calling him the Mavericks’ “legacy guy” and a connection to the franchise’s past.
- How did Ujiri respond? Cuban said Ujiri made no commitment either way and replied only with a thank you.
- Why does it matter? Finley’s status in the reshaped front office remains unresolved, so Cuban’s public push is a rare marker of an otherwise private decision.
- What’s next? Whether Ujiri keeps Finley will be one of the first signals of how much continuity the new regime wants with the previous era.
DALLAS — Mark Cuban says he personally pressed new team president Masai Ujiri to retain Michael Finley, describing the longtime executive as the Dallas Mavericks connection to their own history.
Cuban made the recommendation public on a special edition of the Haymaker Network’s “House of Haymaker,” hosted by Ben Rogers and Jeff “Skin” Wade, where he recounted one of his few conversations with Ujiri since the front-office overhaul.
According to Cuban, Ujiri listened but made no commitment.
After the Mavericks fired Nico Harrison in November 2025, Finley served as co-interim general manager alongside Matt Riccardi and ran basketball operations through the end of the 2025-26 season. Dallas then hired Ujiri as team president and alternate governor in May 2026 and brought in Mike Schmitz from Portland as general manager.
Riccardi is out of the organization, while Finley’s role in the new structure remains unclear.
Mark Cuban Says He Told Masai Ujiri “Finn Is Our Legacy Guy”
Cuban said he framed the case to Ujiri around institutional memory rather than a specific job title.
“Finn is our legacy guy,” Cuban said. “You need somebody there that’s a connection to the past and knows everybody, that has been there a while.”
He said the recommendation was explicit.
“My strong recommendation is that you keep Michael Finley,” Cuban said.
Cuban said Ujiri did not signal a decision in either direction.
“He didn’t say anything one way or the other,” Cuban said. “Just said, ‘Thank you,’ and that was it.”
Mark Cuban Points to the Post-Rick Carlisle Decision Room
Cuban tied his argument to the value he placed on veteran voices during his ownership, and he said the connection need not take the form of a formal position.
“I think there’s a lot to be said for being in close contact,” Cuban said. “Doesn’t necessarily have to be a job.”
He cited the group that weighed in when the franchise moved on from coach Rick Carlisle as an example of leaning on people with deep ties to the organization.
“When Rick Carlisle left, it was Dirk, and Finn, and Casey Smith, and Don Kalkstein, and I who were in that room,” Cuban said, referencing Dirk Nowitzki and other longtime staffers. “We made this decision together because we wanted that feedback.”
What Masai Ujiri’s Response Signals
Ujiri has said little publicly about the shape of his front office. His only on-record comment to date framed the changes as a reset, noting the organization’s “responsibility to build a basketball organization capable of sustained championship contention.”
Since Finley’s status was still being determined after Kidd’s dismissal, the Mavericks have not yet shared a final determination on Finley’s role.
Cuban no longer holds any basketball authority, having ceded control after selling his majority stake in late 2023, so his lobbying is advice rather than instruction.
Whether Ujiri acts on it will offer one of the first concrete signals of how much continuity the new regime wants with the previous era.
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