“Whoever they hire has to be able to get Cooper to buy …

The person Dumont hires as his lead basketball executive will have to make the final call on what to do with both of Dallas’ first-round picks; decide if the Mavericks should use one of their many frontcourt players to try to get more guard help; and weigh whether to extend Dereck Lively II, the team’s talented 22-year-old center who, because of injuries, has played in just 43 games over the past two seasons. “Whoever they hire has to be able to get Cooper to buy into their vision,” one NBA front-office staffer who was granted anonymity so they could speak freely told The Athletic. “That’s the most important thing.