Mavs hire Mike Schmitz as GM under Masai Ujiri

The Nico Harrison era is officially dead. The Mavericks announced Friday they hired Mike Schmitz, the Trail Blazers' assistant general manager, as the franchise's new GM — running basketball operations under newly-hired team president Masai Ujiri. The duo now controls the team that holds the No. 1 pick (Cooper Flagg) and is trying to rebuild around what's left of Luka's old supporting cast.

Schmitz isn't a household name yet but he's one of the most respected evaluators in the league. He spent close to a decade as ESPN's lead NBA draft analyst before joining Portland's front office in 2023 — climbing from director of player personnel to assistant GM in three years. He had a hand in Portland's draft hauls (Scoot Henderson, Donovan Clingan, Yang Hansen). Now he gets a much bigger seat.

Ujiri made it clear from day one he wanted his own guy. He took over Dallas earlier this month after a decade-plus running Toronto, where he won a championship in 2019. Schmitz is move one. Move two? Figuring out what to do with the No. 1 pick, the cap, and a roster that still hasn't decided whether it's contending or rebuilding. After last year's Luka trade earthquake, Mavs fans finally have a front office they can trust to act like adults.