Jason Kidd's departure has opened up a whole can of worms for the Dallas Mavericks organization, and while we expect some new faces this summer in Dallas, one man with local DFW ties will no longer be in the front office, and that's co-general manager Matt Riccardi.
Last season, Riccardi helped out with basketball operations with former Dallas Mavericks forward Michael Finley, who has been in the organization for years as a front office executive for several years. Riccardi was in charge of co-GM duties following the Nico Harrison firing, who's known for architecting arguably the worst trade in sports history.
Mavs fans were pretty fond of Riccardi, but once he missed out on the team president job to Masai Ujiri, it became clear his place in the organization wasn't going to be the same.
Mavericks' co-general manager Matt Riccardi is out following Kidd's departure
The news was reported by Jake Fischer, and it appears that Riccardi's place was no longer safe once Ujiri became the team president. Riccardi is a local name that DFW fans have grown to admire, but Ujiri has been there, done that.
"I’m told Mavericks executive Matt Riccardi is also departing the organization. Riccardi, who served as Dallas’ co-general manager this season in the wake of Nico Harrison’s exit, was the runner-up to Masai Ujiri in Patrick Dumont’s process to find a new president of basketball operations," Fischer said on X.
Of course, Riccardi had nothing to do with the Doncic trade, and no fan should blame him for the fallout from the Anthony Davis trade at all. But there was clearly a spot for him in the front office before Ujiri came into the picture.
It looks like Ujiri isn't wasting any time trying to clean house and build for the future. He clearly knows the potential of this organization, and this fanbase is ready to get back to winning basketball. He's making lots of moves that may have some of the fanbase scratching their heads. But folks, this is a man who knows a winning culture and has contacts across the globe.
Ujiri already has work to do, searching for a new head coach in arguably the hottest opening job in the NBA this offseason.
Losing Riccardi is unfortunate for DFW locals, as he is one who built himself from scratch. He wanted to be part of a Jason Kidd-led team, but he especially wanted to do it as the team president, and he wasn't picked for that.
Mavs fans wish Riccardi well for the future, but it stings knowing a true DFW local was ready to be in this organization for a long time, that was until everything started shifting in another direction.
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