Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont on GM rumors: I can’t talk to anyone without permission

Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont is hearing the same rumors as everyone else. He’s just not engaging with them.

Amid speculation linking Dallas to high-profile executives such as the Thunder’s Sam Presti and Celtics’ Brad Stevens, Dumont made it clear those conversations aren’t happening. At least not yet.

“I have to tell you, I can’t talk to any of those people now because it would be tampering,” Dumont told Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. “That’s against league rules. And I will never do that.”

In other words, pump the brakes.

“So anything that you may have heard is just rumor and chatter,” Dumont added. “Because I actually can’t talk to anyone until I get permission.”

That hasn’t stopped the speculation.

The Mavericks are searching for a new general manager, and names have been floating. That list incliudes Presti, Stevens, the Cavaliers’ Koby Altman, Timberwolves’ Tim Connelly and even Mavericks coach Jason Kidd.

But as Dumont pointed out, the process is still in its early stages, and there are rules to follow before anything gets serious.

“So the way to think about it is we’ll do the work,” he said. “We’ll figure out who’s a great leader.”

So until that time, it’s just rumor season. The real movement will come later.