Mavs To Make Michael Finley, Matt Riccardi Interim Co-GMs
Upon firing president of basketball operations and general manager Nico Harrison, the Mavericks will make Michael Finley and Matt Riccari their interim co-GMs, reports Tina Nguyen of FOX 32 Chicago (Twitter link).
Shams Charania and Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link) confirm the report, indicating that Finley and Riccardi will be promoted during a 10:30 am Central time meeting with Mavs governor Patrick Dumont.
A two-time All-Star and NBA champion as a player, Finley played in the NBA from 1995-2010 before transitioning to a front office role. He was hired by the Mavericks in 2012 and was promoted to VP of basketball operations in 2018. He later became the team’s assistant GM and VP of player personnel in 2021.
Riccardi, a native of the Dallas area, worked with the Nets for 13 years in scouting and executive roles, then was hired by the Mavericks in 2022 as their senior director of pro personnel. He was promoted during the summer of 2023 to an assistant GM position and was the Mavs’ representative in the drawing room on draft lottery night in May when the team won the No. 1 overall pick.
Marc Stein reported this morning that former Mavs advisor and current Pistons executive Dennis Lindsey could be a target for Dallas, while Chris Mannix of SI.com suggested there has been chatter about the possibility of head coach Jason Kidd moving to a front office role.
For now, Finley and Riccardi will run the show, and it’s possible one or both will receive consideration for the permanent job.
While it’s somewhat rare for a team to employ co-GMs, it’s not unprecedented. For instance, the Suns designated James Jones and Trevor Bukstein as co-GMs when they made a front office change just before the start of the 2018/19 season, then named Jones their lone, permanent head of basketball operations at the end of that season.
Mavs Promoting Matt Riccardi To Assistant GM
Matt Riccardi is receiving a promotion from the Mavericks, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), who reports that Riccardi will hold the title of assistant general manager.
A native of the Dallas area, Riccardi is currently the team’s senior director of pro personnel. The 37-year-old was hired away from the Nets last year.
As Mike Mazzeo wrote for Forbes a couple years ago, Riccardi had a pretty remarkable journey over the course of his 13 years in Brooklyn. He got his start as an unpaid intern and steadily rose up the ranks despite multiple front office overhauls, eventually becoming general manager of the Long Island Nets — the team’s G League affiliate — as well as Brooklyn’s director of scouting.
According to Mazzeo, Riccardi is known for finding hidden gems in the G League, including Spencer Dinwiddie, who revived his career with the Nets. Riccardi reportedly drew interest from the Grizzlies’ front office a handful of years ago, so he’s held in high regard around the league.
Free agent wing Theo Pinson, who has played for both the Mavs (the past two seasons) and the Nets, sent out a tweet congratulating Riccardi.
Texas Notes: Wood, Mavericks, Martin, T. Jones
Christian Wood told WFAA TV that he’s “counting my blessings” about the trade that sent him from the Rockets to the Mavericks in June. Wood, who spoke during a break at a youth basketball camp, said he’s focused on helping Dallas get even further than last season’s trip to the Western Conference Finals.
“It’s a great opportunity for me and for this organization to try and take that next step,” he said. “I just want to win games. My main objective is to try and get to the (NBA) Finals.”
Wood, who’s entering the final year of his contract, will add plenty of scoring and rebounding to the Mavs’ front line. He averaged 17.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game last season, but he wasn’t in the Rockets’ long-term plans, so they shipped him to the Mavericks in exchange for four players and a first-round pick.
Wood said he’s happy to be in Dallas — both on and off the court.
“I love the city — it’s a little bit calmer than Houston, thank God,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve tried a few food spots out here, and the food is great. But I’m still trying to find my way around.”
There’s more NBA news from Texas:
- The Mavericks are hiring Nets scouting director Matt Riccardi to a senior front office position, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Riccardi, who grew up in the Dallas area, has been with Brooklyn for the past 13 years.
- Several teams are monitoring Rockets forward Kenyon Martin Jr., who requested a trade in June, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. After the Rockets re-signed Jae’Sean Tate and drafted Jabari Smith and Tari Eason in the first round, it doesn’t appear there’s a future for Martin in Houston.
- Tre Jones‘ contract for the upcoming season became guaranteed for $500K when he remained on the Spurs‘ roster past August 1, tweets Spotrac contributor Keith Smith. Jones, who would make $1.78MM if he gets a full guarantee, could challenge for the starting point guard spot now that Dejounte Murray has been traded to Atlanta. Jones made 11 starts last season while averaging 6.0 points and 3.4 assists in 69 games.
Nets Notes: Offseason, FAs, Kurucs, Riccardi
The Nets were among the summer’s big winners two months ago, having secured free agent commitments from stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving while adding complementary roster pieces like DeAndre Jordan and Garrett Temple.
However, as Frank Isola of The Athletic details, that “once-in-a-lifetime” offseason has hit a bit of a rough patch in recent weeks. Wilson Chandler was hit with a 25-game PED suspension and Rodions Kurucs was arrested for an alleged domestic incident.
Throw in the fact that Durant is expected to miss most of the season and the knowledge that Irving contributed to disharmony in the Celtics’ locker room last year and there are plenty of uncertainties and question marks in Brooklyn heading into ’19/20.
As the Nets look to minimize the drama in Brooklyn, here are a few more notes related to the franchise:
- Isola suggests the Nets will “likely” make a roster move at some point with Durant out and Chandler suspended for the season’s first 25 games. As NetsDaily observes, there has been plenty of chatter lately linking Brooklyn to veteran free agents Carmelo Anthony and Joe Johnson.
- Kurucs’ attorney Alex Spiro tells legal expert Michael McCann of Sports Illustrated that the allegations against his client are “bogus” and claims they’re the result of a bad breakup. Still, as McCann outlines, Kurucs may face a suspension from the NBA depending on how the case plays out. Because he’s facing misdemeanor – rather than felony – charges, the Latvian forward shouldn’t have any issues related to his immigration status or work visa.
- The Long Island Nets – Brooklyn’s G League affiliate – announced on Thursday that they’ve named Matt Riccardi as their general manager and Shaun Fein as their head coach. Riccardi drew interest from Memphis earlier this offseason, but opted to stick with the Nets.
Southwest Notes: House, Davis, Riccardi, Doncic
The Rockets are planning to match any offer for restricted free agent Danuel House, Kelly Iko of The Athletic reports. The swingman appeared in seven postseason games but shot just 29.7% from the field. During the regular season, House appeared in 39 games, including 13 starts, and averaged 9.4 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 25.1 MPG. House’s qualifying offer is a modest $1,876,700.
We have more from the Southwest Division:
- The current Pelicans brass might have a more favorable opinion of the Lakers’ reported offers for Anthony Davis than the previous regime, Brad Botkin of CBS Sports relays. Comments on The Sedano Show made by executive VP David Griffin prior to being hired by New Orleans suggest that he’s very high on the potential of Lakers forward Brandon Ingram.
- The Grizzlies were interested in hiring Matt Riccardi, an assistant GM with the Nets’ G League franchise, for a front office position, according to Michael Scotto of The Athletic. Riccardi was granted permission to speak with the Grizzlies brass but opted to stay with the Nets organization.
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was impressed by Rookie of the Year candidate Luka Doncic‘s conditioning in a recent workout with coach Rick Carlisle, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News reports. “He’s definitely in better shape,” Cuban said, adding jokingly that Doncic is finally showing abdominal muscles.
- UCF center Tacko Fall worked out for the Rockets this week, Scott Agness of The Athletic tweets. Fall also visited the Pacers and Knicks.