DALLAS, Texas — The Dallas Mavericks are changing leaders again in the front office. Chief executive Rick Welts will retire at the end of the year, and team president Ethan Casson will move into the CEO job and the alternate governor role on Jan. 1, 2027, the team announced Wednesday.
Welts, 73, plans to stay on as CEO through Dec. 31 so the handoff to Casson goes smoothly. He came to the Mavericks in 2025 and worked on the team’s executive leadership and its long-range arena plans, team officials said.
Team owners first pulled Welts back from retirement late in 2024, chiefly to steer the search for a future home court. The team and city leaders have since chosen the old Valley View Mall property in north Dallas. The Mavericks aim to open play there in 2031, the year the team’s American Airlines Center lease downtown is set to end.
Welts brought experience from the Golden State Warriors, where he helped pick the location for Chase Center and shape the entertainment district around it. His Hall of Fame induction came in 2018 and has spent close to 50 years as a pro basketball and sports business executive.
Casson became Mavericks president in August 2025 and has run the team’s daily business operations for the past 15 months, in tandem with Welts and team Governor Patrick Dumont. Dumont said watching the two work together made him more confident that Casson is the right person to lead the team.
Casson ran the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx for nine seasons, holding the top executive post there and also serving as that club’s alternate governor. Earlier, as chief operating officer of the San Francisco 49ers, he helped close a $220 million, 20-year deal putting the Levi’s name on the team’s stadium.
Casson said the team’s next chapter includes building a world-class arena and entertainment district and growing its ties with fans, partners and the Dallas community. Welts took over in Dallas from Cynthia Marshall, who held the CEO title from March 2018 until late 2024 and remains in an advisory role.
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