We're all ready for the Dallas Mavericks to announce a new head coach by next month. One familiar face was an obvious frontrunner, but apparently, one Eastern Conference suitor decided to join the party at the worst time.
NBA insiders Jake Fischer and Marc Stein reported Friday morning that the Magic were trying to swoop in and destroy the Mavericks' plans for the summer. That's now happened, leaving Mavs fans in the dust for their coaching search.
"(The Magic) are very interested," a league coaching source told Fischer and Stein. Turns out, the Magic didn't waste any time.
Sweeney is a name that Mavs fans wanted to keep from last season, but he's done a heck of a job coaching Victor Wembanyama, and he's a defensive-minded wizard who has coached Wemby to a Defensive Player of the Year award. The clear fan favorite to replace Jason Kidd was Sweeney, but now, the Mavs officially have a bump in the road.
Magic will hire former Mavs assistant Sean Sweeney as the next head coach
BREAKING: The Orlando Magic are finalizing the hire of San Antonio Spurs associate coach Sean Sweeney as the franchise's new head coach, sources tell ESPN. Sweeney broke into NBA coaching in 2011 and now lands the Magic head job as a top rising candidate. pic.twitter.com/aV3Zj6l57k
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 29, 2026
It's just like ESPN's Shams Charania to break the heart of Mavericks fans, as Charania was the one to break the news of the infamous Luka Doncic trade last season. This is a shocking announcement at a weird time, considering Sweeney is about to coach in a Game 7 against the defending-champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.
This is truly a gut punch for Mavericks fans, knowing their dream coach won't be coming back.
Even though this is only Sweeney's first season with the Spurs, he's become a star within the locker room. He's helped elevate Wemby's game to new heights, which is scary for the rest of the league. This season has helped Sweeney's stock as high as the moon, and the Mavericks had every reason to get in the mix.
For Mavs fans, it's an unfortunate sequence now, but it makes sense. Orlando has been going through some changes lately, and they had every reason to go for Sweeney.
The Magic fired Jamahl Mosley after five seasons, and they have a younger team that's trying to elevate into a regular Eastern Conference contender. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are leading the group of guys to the next level, and just like Dallas, Orlando is now locked in on their long-term guy.
Fortunately, there are still some qualified names on the board. One potential name is Tiago Splitter, who took an unknown Portland Trail Blazers team to the playoffs as the seventh seed. With the Blazers going through a transition of new ownership, there's a solid chance Splitter is on his way out, which opens the door to Dallas.
Duke head coach Jon Scheyer has the chance of a lifetime to coach the best player he's ever had in Cooper Flagg, but the Duke gig is a legacy job, and Duke fans seem set on Scheyer being the guy, and it's also the only place he's ever coached.
The cherry on top would be the Mavericks coming back with a better at-bat. It won't be Sweeney, but the Mavs coaching job is still the hottest job opening on the market.
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