Wanted, GM: The Dallas Mavericks Are Eyeing Sam Presti And Brad Stevens To Lead Their Front Office

Last year, the Dallas Mavericks gained long-lasting infamy when they shipped away a blockbuster piece in Luka Dončić. As the Mavericks get started with their rebuild in the post-Dončić era, they are looking to acquire assets this time.

And not just in the locker room. From the looks of it, the Mavs are also looking to load up their front office with star power. On Tuesday, Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix reported that the Mavericks are eyeing top-tier executives to lead their front office for the foreseeable future. 

“I’m told that Patrick Dumont, the team’s governor, is aiming high,” Mannix wrote. “Among the names on Dumont’s wish list, per league sources: Oklahoma City executive vice president and general manager Sam Presti, Minnesota president of basketball operations Tim Connelly and Boston president Brad Stevens. Cleveland top exec Koby Altman’s name is also in the mix, a source said.”

For all intents and purposes, the Mavericks are looking for a successor to Nico Harrison, the former GM who helped facilitate the departure of Dončić from Dallas. At some point, the arrangement of having two interim general managers (namely, Matt Riccardi and former Mavs guard Michael Finley) was going to have to end.

Dumont, who became a majority owner of the franchise in late 2023, has quite a strong list of GM contenders. In the circle of NBA executives today, Presti is the cat’s meow, having effectively executed a long-term plan of roster construction, which culminated in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s championship conquest last year.

Presti was named NBA Executive of the Year in 2025. The year before, it was Stevens taking home the award. An accomplished head coach at the college and pro levels, Stevens took on the role of Celtics president of basketball operations in 2021. Stevens’ fingerprints are all over the Celtics’ record-setting 18th championship win in 2024.

The other names on Dumont’s list have impressive resumes as well. Connelly turned both the Denver Nuggets and the Minnesota Timberwolves into postseason threats, while Altman has held the fort in Cleveland during and after the late 2010s LeBron James era.

Can Dumont lure any of these executives to anchor his braintrust in Dallas? While other NBA teams go for prized free agents this summer, the Mavericks will also be on the lookout for their next GM.