Mavericks hire Masai Ujiri as team president — the man who landed Kawhi runs Dallas now

Masai Ujiri is running the Dallas Mavericks. The team announced it Monday — president of basketball operations and alternate governor, full control. He replaces Nico Harrison, the GM who got fired in November after the Luka trade and never had his job again.

Ujiri spent 15 seasons leading Toronto and went 690-504. He made the playoffs 12 times. He talked Kawhi Leonard into a year in the Six and walked out with the 2019 championship. That's the resume Dallas just hired. He's also the most respected exec in the league among players — which matters when your franchise is trying to convince someone to come play with Cooper Flagg.

Flagg is the inheritance. The No. 1 pick, the reigning Rookie of the Year, the reason the franchise has a future at all after the Luka catastrophe. Ujiri's job: build the team Flagg deserves before the front office wastes another rookie contract. The Giannis and Kawhi rumors started within hours. They will not stop.