Masai Ujiri Presser: Coaching Search, Flagg, Irving, Finley

The Mavericks‘ recently-hired president, Masai Ujiri, spoke to the press on Wednesday. During the press conference, he laid out his initial priorities and his long-term focus for the team.

One of the most pressing concerns is finding the team’s next head coach, after it was announced on Tuesday that Jason Kidd and the organization had mutually agreed to part ways. Ujiri said that he plans to cast a wide net in order to bring in the perfect candidate, as he did with the Raptors, when he hired two different first-time head coaches, Eddie Sefko writes for NBA.com.

“I think our minds are very open,” Ujiri said. “We’re going to look everywhere. Every stone will (be turned over). We will really try to look at what’s best for this organization, be it first-time, be it experienced, be it college, be it European. Everywhere. Whatever is best for this organization going forward is what we are going to look at. It’s going to be very comprehensive.”

As an indication of the different directions the search could go, Ujiri pointed out that the Western Conference Finals features two very young coaches, while the Eastern Conference Finals is between two more veteran coaches, per Mike Curtis of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter video link).

“The kind of person who I bring in here has that mindset of trying to win, and moving in that direction,” Ujiri said. “… We all have to have a united front and think the same way, and we’re going to continue to build this team to think like that.”

He noted that he has not been in touch with any candidates yet, as he said that doing so would be disrespectful to Kidd, and that isn’t the way he likes to do business. He also said that Kidd’s alleged role in the Luka Doncic trade played no role in the decision, but that he viewed the move as a chance to give the franchise a “clean slate” as they prepare for the next era of Mavs basketball.

“I’m in no position to criticize or blame or even really investigate some of the things that happened then,” he said. “We have to figure out a way to slowly move on from this, and I have to hold myself accountable for doing this.”

We have more notes from the Ujiri presser:

• Ujiri emphasized that everything he was trying to do was aimed at maximizing the future of Cooper Flagg, Grant Afseth writes for the Dallas Hoops Journal. “Every decision we are going to make here is going to be future-based,” Ujiri said. “We have a 19-year-old generational player on our roster, and we have to think that way. We’re not going to make decisions based on winning today. I don’t think that would make sense for the organization.” The Mavs have the ninth overall pick this year, but don’t control their own unprotected pick after that until 2031.
• However, that statement does not seem to indicate that the new president is desperate to get rid of veteran Kyrie Irving. Ujiri said that the organization is very interested in seeing Flagg and Irving play together, Christian Clark writes for The Athletic. The star point guard missed Flagg’s entire rookie season while recovering from a torn ACL. “Kevin Durant once told me, ‘There is only one Kyrie walking around in the world,‘” Ujiri said. “I think we have to figure out how Kyrie fits with our program. I have had those conversations with Kyrie. I think Kyrie will fit.”
• When executive Matt Riccardi left the team recently, it raised questions as to the future of franchise alumni and interim general manager Michael Finley, but Ujiri said that the team continues to be in talks with Finley to find him a potential role within the organization, writes Schuyler Dixon of AP News.