Sawt Falasteen - Ujiri hired as president of NBA's Mavericks

Ujiri will oversee all aspects of basketball operations for the Mavericks, including roster moves and scouting, to revamp a team that went 26-56 and missed the playoffs for the second year in a row.

"The Dallas Mavericks are committed to being a world-class organization with a strong culture and focused on winning championships," Mavericks co-owner Patrick Dumont said in announcing the move.

"Masai Ujiri is one of the great basketball leaders of this generation and his addition to our franchise is a critical step in meeting our goals."

Ujiri, 55, was born in England to Kenyan and Nigerian parents and grew up in Nigeria. He moved to the United States to follow his dream to play basketball and spent a decade playing professionally in Europe.

He served as an international scout for the Denver Nuggets before being hired by the Toronto Raptors in 2008 as assistant general manager.

In 2010, he returned to Denver as general manager, the first African to hold such a role in a major US professional sport, and in 2013 was named NBA Executive of the Year.

Ujiri became executive vice president and general manager of the Raptors in 2013 and took over as team president in 2016. The Raptors won the 2019 NBA title and Ujiri stayed for 12 years in all until splitting with the club last June.

"I'm honored to join the Dallas Mavericks and step into this role at such an important time for the organization," Ujiri said. "This is a franchise with a proud history, passionate fans, and a commitment to winning.

"I look forward to working with our players, coaches and leadership team to build something that reflects that standard and competes at the highest level. We will win in Dallas."

Despite the efforts of NBA Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg, the Mavericks suffered their worst season since 2017-18 and Nico Harrison was fired as president and general manager in November, replaced on an interim basis by Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi.

"We welcome (Ujiri's) energy and determination along with his leadership, experience and many accomplishments as a basketball executive," Dumont said. "We are very excited about the future of our team."

Z.AbuSaud--SF-PST