Mavericks add 5-time NBA champion to their front office

Nov 5, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; A view of the Dallas Mavericks logo during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Charlotte Hornets at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

As they continue to mount their Western Conference title defense, the Dallas Mavericks are making some management moves.

The Mavericks announced Wednesday that they have hired veteran NBA executive Rick Welts as their new CEO. Welts will be replacing previous CEO Cynt Marshall, who is retiring at the end of December.

The 71-year-old Welts is a five-time NBA champion. He won his first title in 1979 as the director of public relations for the then-Seattle SuperSonics and then won his next four as president and COO of the Golden State Warriors (in 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2022). Welts has also served in the NBA league office as executive vice president, CMO, and president of NBA Properties and later worked as president of the Phoenix Suns prior to his Warriors stint. In 2011, Welts became the first high-ranking executive in major professional sports to openly come out as gay.

Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News reports that Welts was hand-picked by Patrick Dumont, who took over for Mark Cuban as the governor of the Mavs in 2023. Welts will also now be acting as the alternate for Dumont, the son-in-law of Dallas majority owner Miriam Adelson, at NBA Board of Governors meetings, Townsend adds.

Coming off their 2024 NBA Finals berth, the Mavericks are having another very strong year at 17-9 (No. 4 in the Western Conference). Welts, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as an executive in 2018, will serve as one of their lead decision-makers heading into a trade deadline period where Dallas could be taking some major swings.