Mavericks' scramble to replace Nico Harrison finally has a set timeline

The Dallas Mavericks fired Nico Harrison in November, and now, with less than 10 games remaining in the regular season, there are finally some rumblings of how they plan to handle this vacancy. NBA insider Marc Stein reported that Dallas' "stated goal" is to hire Harrison's replacement before the NBA Draft in June (subscription required), and this hire has to be done the right way.

Dallas won't rush its general manager hire

The Mavericks' era with Harrison running the show quickly went south when he traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, and Dallas was ready to move on from him less than a month into the 2025-26 regular season. They can't afford for another general manager to cause the type of damage that Harrison did, and Mavs CEO Rick Welts confirmed how serious this hire will be for Dallas at Mavs Ball earlier this month.

Welts stated that they're in no rush to find a new GM, and they really "want to make the right decision."

"It’s gonna be somebody who’s gonna be guiding the basketball operations for the Mavericks for a long time," Welts said.

Who are the Mavericks' candidates for general manager?

Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi have been the team's co-interim general managers since Harrison's firing, and while they've done an incredible job working together over the last few months, they both can't get the job as the team's full-time GM. Both of them are expected to be candidates to captain the Mavericks' ship into the Cooper Flagg era, but outside of them, the rumored candidates have been few and far between.

It's hard to gain a pulse on who the Mavericks want for this position, especially with the NBA season still going on.

Potential candidates are still in-season for other teams, and rival executives from around the league are trying to figure out what they're thinking. The whispers coming out of Dallas have been quiet when it comes to who they'd like to hire, with the only external candidate commonly mentioned being Dennis Lindsey.

While Lindsey is in the middle of working in the Detroit Pistons' front office, amid an incredible season in Motor City, he would be interested in coming to Dallas.

He worked in the Mavericks' front office alongside Harrison during the 2023-24 season, ultimately helping them make multiple moves that led them to their third trip to the NBA Finals, but left for Detroit that summer. Lindsey has widely been viewed as Mark Cuban's top pick for the job, and Mavs fans have been intrigued by this potential hire as well.

Dallas is handling their GM search without outside help

Stein also reported that the Mavs "have not retained a search firm in the hunt for a new head of basketball operations." Their search for a new general manager is being handled internally now, instead of hiring a group to help them find candidates.

The Mavericks' search for a new general manager will be one of the biggest stories in Dallas this offseason, and fans should be glad that the team is looking to make this hire before the 2026 NBA Draft. This draft will have serious implications for Flagg's future, and Dallas should do whatever it can to nail their lottery pick and general manager hire.