Mavericks owner on Masai Ujiri: ‘There is no daylight between us’

Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont apparently has no intention of looking over Masai Ujiri’s shoulder.

In fact, Dumont made it clear that Ujiri has his full backing when it comes to running the basketball side of the organization.

“I support what Masai wants to do,” Dumont told Christian Clark of The Athletic. “I believe that’s really important. There is no daylight between us.”

That included Ujiri’s decision to replace coach Jason Kidd despite Kidd having received an extension in 2025 with four years remaining on his contract.

Dumont said he and Ujiri share similar values when it comes to morality, work ethic and accountability.

Meanwhile, Dumont doesn’t sound eager to accelerate a roster overhaul around reigning Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg.

“I believe in building things over time,” he said. “That’s how you make them resilient, and that’s how you make them durable.”

Dumont specifically mentioned Flagg and Kyrie Irving among the reasons he’s excited about Dallas’ future.

“You have Cooper. You have Kyrie,” he said. “We have a bunch of young players who are aggressive and motivated. They want to win.”

Dumont also addressed the Mavericks’ arena situation, saying the goal remains to keep the franchise in Dallas when its American Airlines Center lease expires in 2031.

“The most important thing is that the Dallas Mavericks are going to stay in the city of Dallas,” he said.

As for former majority owner Mark Cuban, despite their recent legal dispute, Dumont called Cuban a “great family friend” and “the most passionate Mavs fan I’ve ever met.”

“I hope we can do him proud,” Dumont said.