Mike Schmitz called it “chaotic in a beautiful way” on May 10, two days after the Mavericks hired him as their new general manager and as the team’s new basketball leadership began to take shape around Masai Ujiri. Schmitz, speaking at the draft lottery, said the job in Dallas had already become an opportunity he did not want to take for granted.
“It’s been chaotic in a beautiful way. It’s not lost on me what an amazing opportunity this is,” Schmitz said. He added that at 35 years old, being a general manager for “such a prestigious organization” while working alongside Ujiri, governor Patrick Dumont and the ownership group was “a really, really important time.”
The praise was mutual. Ujiri called Schmitz an “incredible scout” and “incredible leader” and said he would bring a “whole package” of skills to Dallas’ basketball operations department. Ujiri also said he has known Schmitz for “many, many years,” a relationship that dates to their time scouting internationally, when Schmitz said they were in the same gyms for years and years.
The timing matters because Dallas is moving quickly toward June’s draft with three picks in hand: the ninth, 30th and 48th selections. Schmitz said the Mavericks are “very confident” they can land a rotation-level player with the ninth overall pick, a view that gives the front office a clear target at the top of the board while also leaving room to search for depth later in the draft.
Schmitz, who was most recently an assistant general manager with the Trail Blazers before his May 8 hiring, also addressed the attention around Cooper Flagg. He said Flagg’s versatility would give Dallas multiple ways to build out the roster around him, a sign that the Mavericks are already thinking about more than one path through the draft.
For Dallas, the next stretch is less about introductions than decisions. With Ujiri and Schmitz now paired at the top of basketball operations, the Mavericks enter draft season with both credibility and urgency, and the pressure will be on to turn those three picks into help that can matter right away.
