[Townsend] Patrick Dumont offers rare interview, discusses Cuban tension and more
Patrick Dumont offers rare interview, talks Cuban tension, Mavs’ new arena, future with Flagg and more
I am just grabbing some small snippits from the interview.
Please read the whole thing and support local journalism by reading it on the Dallas Morning Newspaper site:
“When expectations aren’t met, we really have to take a critical look at everything we’re doing,” he says. “We have to reflect and say, ‘How do we get better?’
“I really believe this is an extremely important offseason for this franchise. We’re going to work tirelessly to get things right. We have a lot of work to do.”
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“Monday morning, we’re going to get active, and we’re going to talk to a lot of people,” Dumont says. “And we’re going to do our best to make sure that we find the best possible candidate to lead our basketball organization.
“Our goal is to have someone on board by the middle of May.”
“The good news is we’re blessed to have a great young talent in Cooper Flagg,” he says. “That is really special. We’re also blessed with some really great veteran leadership, like Kyrie [Irving].
“Having a generational talent like Cooper Flagg should give everyone confidence – our fans, our team – that we’re going to get back to the playoffs and that we’re going to try to compete for championships as soon as we can. We’re really passionate about this.”
He says he believes Dallas, as a dynamic city and top-four media market, is a draw for candidates, as is the potential for building around 6-9 Flagg’s multidimensional talents. Then he described the intangibles he wants.
“They’re going to set the tone for everything that we do from a basketball perspective,” he says. “We’re looking for someone who can set the direction of our basketball team, put the right pieces in place to achieve our goals and set the right culture.
Earlier this month, Sports Illustrated reported that Dumont is aiming high. The website listed as candidates the likes of Thunder vice president Sam Presti, Celtics president Brad Stevens, Timberwolves vice president Tim Connelly and Cleveland president Koby Altman.
During the interview with Dumont, The News expresses doubt whether Presti and Stevens in particular would be available before adding the caveat: “But you did somehow hire [Naismith Hall of Famer] Rick Welts” as CEO.
To which Dumont laughs.
“I have to tell you, I can’t talk to any of those people now because it would be tampering. That’s against league rules. And I will never do that.
“So anything that you may have heard is just rumor and chatter. Because I actually can’t talk to anyone until I get permission.
“So the way to think about it is we’ll do the work. We’ll figure out who’s a great leader. Who can build a great culture. Who has a track record. Who knows how to work with young players and develop them, which is crucial, because if you look at our team right now, we’re going to have a pool of great young talent, led by Cooper Flagg.
But when The News asks whether he and Cuban can effectively function as partners, Dumont takes the high road.
“Mark is really passionate about the Mavericks, and I think that’s great,” Dumont says. “I think he’s really, really frustrated about the year that the team has had. And I understand that frustration.
“I consider Mark a friend. And look, I always appreciate his thoughts. And I appreciate his frustration.
“But one thing I do want to say, in terms of ownership, I think we’ve been really clear: We’re not moving the team to another city. The team is not for sale. We’re going to continue to invest in this franchise. We’re going to build a new home for the team, and hopefully in the long term we’ll be able to celebrate that success for many years.”
The article contains more about the new arena they want to build and them suing the dallas stars to take control of the aac. So if you are intersted in reading more: Here