Masai Ujiri knows what he’s getting into as the next team president of the Dallas Mavericks.
News broke on Monday that the Mavs were hiring Ujiri to replace disgraced executive Nico Harrison, who remains public enemy No. 1 in Dallas for orchestrating the trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
During his introductory press conference on Tuesday, Ujiri spoke candidly about taking over following the ill-fated trade that left so many Mavs fans scarred. He went back to his African roots to send a message to a fan base needing hope for the future.
“I want to be very respectful to everybody here, and yes, there’s a healing process with that. Luka’s a future Hall of Famer. That’s the past,” Ujiri told reporters.
“In Africa, we say when kings go, kings come. And a king went, and we have a little prince here that we’re gonna turn into a king.”
That “little prince” Ujiri is referring to is, of course, Cooper Flagg. The 19-year-old bears the weight of the entire franchise on his shoulders.
Ujiri served as the Toronto Raptors’ top executive from 2013 to 2025, with his crowning moment being the team’s 2019 championship run. Ujiri made the move to acquire Kawhi Leonard, whose one year with the team resulted in Toronto’s title run.
Ujiri has made some questionable moves (or non-moves) since Leonard departed, with the team failing to reach similar heights up until his exit. There were reportedly concerns that Ujiri had spread himself too thin with his other ventures.
In Dallas, Ujiri gets a new chance to build something from the ground up.
