Dallas Mavericks add former GM to front office: Who has Mark Cuban’s ear?

The Dallas Mavericks made a bold front office move as Marc Stein broke the news (subscription required) on April 17 that the franchise is adding Dennis Lindsey to their front office. Stein reports that he is joining as special advisor to general manager Nico Harrison. The Mavs reached the conference finals in Harrison’s first year as GM before missing the playoffs in year two.

Lindsey comes with tons of experience. He played college basketball at Baylor before joining the Rockets as a scout in 1996. Lindsey worked his way up to assistant general manager before moving to the Spurs in 2007 under the same title. After five years in San Antonio, he moved to the Jazz where was general manager for seven years and executive vice president of basketball operations for two.

Lindsey has been the top executive in an NBA front office, and he is a well-respected GM. Should Mavericks fans be worried about who has owner Mark Cuban’s ear?

Dallas Mavericks add former GM Dennis Lindsey to front office: Who has Mark Cuban’s ear?

Harrison wanted this hire as Stein reports he desired “an experienced sounding-board voice” since the 2022 offseason. Now, he has that in Lindsey, who was considered for the Mavericks GM role when the job was open in 2021 after Donnie Nelson’s exit.

Lindsey’s track record speaks for itself, and this could be a significant addition for the Mavs as they enter arguably the most important offseason in franchise history. The 54-year-old brought Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell to Utah, and the team reached the playoffs in each of his final five seasons as the Jazz’s top executive.

Fans had a right to be worried when they saw the news. Owner Mark Cuban has been known to listen to someone other than his general manager when making decisions, including a player, and a man who made millions gambling on the NBA. It appears Harrison still has control of the front office, and Cuban has given him more autonomy than he gave Donnie Nelson. The owner still has final say in all decisions, but it is on Harrison to improve their roster this summer.

Can the Dallas Mavericks significantly improve before next season? Has Kyrie Irving played his last game for the franchise? The front office has massive questions to answer this summer, and adding Dennis Lindsey should help. Harrison now has a veteran general manager to lean on as the team attempts to return to the playoffs in 2024. They want to build a title contender around Luka Doncic, but can they do it? Stay tuned to find out.