Michael Finley was once a beloved figure in the history of the Dallas Mavericks. He starred alongside Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash in the early 2000s, but departing for the San Antonio Spurs in the summer of 2005, where he won an NBA championship in 2007, left a sour taste in the mouths of Mavs fans.
Finley has been playing catch-up ever since, even as he’s been an executive of the team for nearly a decade at this point. He’s currently operating as the Co-Interim General Manager with Matt Riccardi, but Finley wants to be the full-time GM when the time comes to name one the offseason.
However, many fans are still not over the Luka Doncic trade, thinking Finley had a hand in it. After making his case at Mavs Ball on Thursday night, one fan called him out on Twitter, saying that he was “completely complicit” in the trade. Finley responded to that directly, saying, “I respect your opinion. But get your facts right. But I love the energy.”
There have been reports that Finley was as against the Doncic trade as anyone and tried to give pushback to Nico Harrison, who was fired in November. But all people remember is Finley taking the beer away from Luka Doncic after the 2024 Western Conference Finals, something else he has addressed recently.
An Update on the Search for the Mavericks General Manager
Finley made his case for GM on Thursday night, saying, “I think I am Dallas. I’m everything Dallas is about. I played here, through the good times and the bad times, and as a fan of the Mavericks, I know what it takes and I know what the fans are looking for. So I would love to have the chance to lead this franchise into the future and to, ultimately, championship contenders.”
However, Matt Riccardi will want his chance, as well. He grew up a fan of the Mavs, and it would be special for him to get the chance to run the franchise.
Mavs CEO Rick Welts provided an update on the timeline of the search for a GM on Thursday, stating, “We want to make the right decision. We’re pretty excited about potential candidates. I think ideally we want to have somebody in place ahead of the draft.”
If they stick to that timeline, the Mavs would have a general manager by June. There hasn’t been a date announced for the Draft yet, but the Lottery will be on May 10th.
