Dallas Mavericks fans loved the Masai Ujiri hire, while few are supportive of the team’s plan to leave American Airlines Center five years from now.These were two of the notable takeaways from our fan survey.More than 800 MFFLs (Mavs Fan For Life) chimed in on the summer of change we’ve witnessed in Dallas. Let’s get to the responses.Question 1: The Mavericks went 26-56 last season. How many regular-season games will they win this season?Most of the participants predicted that this team is going to make a 10-win jump or better. Nearly two-thirds of voters picked the Mavericks to win 36 games or more. I think this is doable, but a lot of this hinges on Kyrie Irving. By the time Irving takes the court in October, more than 19 months will have passed since he last played in an NBA game. That’s a long layoff. I also don’t think it’s realistic to ask Irving to be in the lineup every single night. He’s played more than 65 games once in the past eight years.With Irving healthy, I think the Mavericks are a dangerous team. When he’s unable to play, I have questions about the amount of shot creation and play finishing that Dallas can put on the floor. Qualifying for the postseason — even if it’s just the Play-In Tournament — is a worthy and achievable goal.Question 2: What did you think of the Masai Ujiri hiring?Most of you gave this move a big thumbs up. More than one-third of our respondents voted “Liked it,” while more than half chose “Loved it.” It’s easy to understand why bringing Ujiri aboard was so popular. He built playoff teams in Denver and Toronto and had a championship on his resume before arriving in Dallas.It took the Mavericks six months to find a new head of basketball after they let Nico Harrison go in November. There is clearly a feeling among the fanbase that they got this one right.We were reporting throughout the entire process that the Mavericks wanted an experienced leader. That’s exactly what they got in Ujiri.Question 3: Did you agree with Masai Ujiri’s decision to fire Jason Kidd?This move spoke volumes about the power that Ujiri wields in Dallas. Kidd had more than $40 million remaining on his contract at the time he was let go. More than three-fourths of our voters said this was the right move. My sense is fans felt so strongly about this because of the lingering questions about Kidd’s involvement in the Luka Dončić trade.In April, Kidd denied minority owner Mark Cuban’s claim that he had a hand in the disastrous Dončić trade. Kidd said he was “informed at the 11th hour” and was “not a part of the process.”I don’t think Ujiri would have taken this job if he didn’t have full control over who was going to be his coach. It was communicated to me at the time of Ujiri’s hiring that the decision to retain Kidd or let him go was going to be completely up to the Mavericks’ new president. We know which choice Ujiri made. Fans were on board with it.Question 4: What did you think of the Dusty May hiring?There wasn’t quite as much enthusiasm for May as Ujiri. I’m going to guess that’s because May is an NBA first-timer, and Ujiri has worked in the league for more than two decades. I’m not overly concerned about May making the transition from college to the pros. One of my many reasons for feeling this way is that college is the pros now. May was already dealing with Michigan players who were making millions last season.I think May will fare well in the NBA. The folks I’ve spoken to this offseason rave about his ability to relate to people, his obsession with the game and his ability to be adaptable. His Florida Atlantic team that reached the Final Four in 2023 was guard-heavy. His Michigan squad that won the national championship in April was gigantic. It has to be exciting for May to get to work with a talent like Cooper Flagg, who can play so many different positions.Question 5: How would you grade the Mavericks offseason as a whole?The Mavericks’ front office, coaching staff and roster all look completely different compared to April. About half of our respondents gave the team a B for this summer of change.I thought hiring Ujiri and May were both good moves, but when I look at this roster, it still feels like there’s work to do. Like last year, there are a lot of frontcourt players and few proven guards. Irving is going to have a lot of work to do trying to breathe life into an offense that finished 27th in points scored per 100 possessions a season ago. As the Mavericks continue to build around Flagg, they are going to have to decide who’s the right ball-handler to put next to Flagg long-term. Maybe that’s Irving, who turns 35 in March but could conceivably have a lot of high-level basketball left in him. Maybe it’s someone else.Earlier this summer, I gave the Mavericks an A for their offseason. I think they had to move on from anyone who had a hand in the Dončić trade, which they did. They seem completely focused on Flagg’s timeline now, which is the correct call. I don’t expect them to put a perfect roster around Flagg in one transaction cycle.Question 6: What are realistic expectations for Cooper Flagg in Year 2?Flagg’s closing kick to last season helped him edge out Kon Knueppel for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award. In Flagg’s follow-up act, roughly half of our poll participants believe that Flagg can earn an All-Star nod this season. I think that’s realistic. We know that Flagg is going to affect the game in a variety of ways. He’s a terror in transition who’s probably going to force his way onto an All-Defensive team sooner rather than later.Cooper Flagg wins Rookie of the YearOffensively, I think having Irving back should help Flagg a lot. Kidd frequently asked Flagg to get the Mavericks into their offense last season, the equivalent of throwing him into the deep end of the pool and forcing him to swim. I thought Flagg handled it about as well as he could have. He’s so good at driving and finishing with his left hand, he practically seems ambidextrous. Hopefully, Irving’s return and the additions of Santi Aldama and Tarik Biberović open up more driving lanes for him. I’ll also be watching closely how well Flagg shoots the 3 this season after converting 29.5 percent of his triples as a rookie.Question 7: Who will get most of the backup point guard minutes behind Kyrie Irving?It sure would be helpful if the Mavericks could figure out a way to clone Irving. They could use 48 minutes of his offensive wizardry. I’m interested to see how May handles the minutes when Irving needs to rest. The Mavericks traded up in the first round to acquire Sergio De Larrea, a 20-year-old Spaniard who showed at Las Vegas Summer League that he’s got passing chops. Marcus Sasser, who spent the first three years of his career in Detroit, is more of a scoring-minded guard option. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Naji Marshall get some on-ball reps, as well. He’s clearly valued. The Mavericks gave him a three-year, $51.9 million contract extension this summer.Question 8: The Mavericks finished 27th in offense last season. Where will they finish this year?About half of you chose the “16-20” option. If the Mavericks can finish somewhere in the middle of the pack, I think that’s a win. I expect ball movement to be one of May’s biggest points of emphasis. In July, I asked May what his non-negotiables are as a coach. “We have to play unselfishly,” he told me. I can’t wait to see how May mixes and matches all his frontcourt players. I’m a big believer in breaking defenses down with the pass, but at some point, someone is going to have to make a jump shot.Question 9: What was the best roster move the Mavericks made this summer?The decision to take Morez Johnson Jr. at No. 9 was fascinating. It was a clear signal that the team’s front office wasn’t going to choose a player in the lottery based on positional need. Johnson is going to compete for minutes at power forward and center in a crowded frontcourt. The Mavericks appear poised to enter the season with Johnson, Aldama, P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II and Moussa Cissé all under contract. I liked the Aldama pick-up this offseason. He’s a legitimate stretch big man, an archetype of a player who I think is extremely valuable next to Flagg.Question 10: The Mavericks plan to vacate American Airlines Center in 2031 for a new arena that could be built in North Dallas. What do you think about this plan?Is a new arena something that Mavericks fans actually want? In my opinion, this question hasn’t been asked enough as the team plans its exit from Victory Park. More than half of respondents said they felt a move out of American Airlines Center was “unnecessary.” I’ve gotten a chance to see a game at every NBA venue, other than Scotiabank Arena. The AAC might not be state-of-the-art, but nothing about it feels tired to me. If the Mavericks do go to North Dallas and build on the former Valley View Mall site, I think it’s a downgrade in terms of location. There’s just something that feels right about an NBA team playing games in its city’s urban core.