The Dallas Mavericks have found their next head coach. Per Adam Schefter, Pete Thamel and Shams Charania, Dusty May will be the next Mavericks head coach, and it may have revealed the Mavericks' next move at No. 9 in the NBA Draft.
With May coming off a National Championship, his Michigan team was already in the way-too-early top 10. But more importantly, this signals the Mavericks will get their Victor Wembanyama stopper, 7-foot-3 big man, Aday Mara.
Mara has been trending from a mid-first-round pick to a near lottery pick. That may be the case now with May leading the charge. Getting to work with Cooper Flagg will be an amazing experience for May, and if one of the hottest coaches on the market can make Flagg and Mara work, the league needs to watch out.
Mavs' Dusty May hire sets up a perfect excuse for an Aday Mara draft pick
First of all, WOW. This is a seismic move that will send shockwaves across the NBA. Over a month ago, it was reported that the Mavs were interested in college coaches like May and Duke's Jon Scheyer for the obvious Cooper Flagg connection. May, early in his Michigan tenure, had every reason to stay, but now, May is the man in Dallas.
This hire truly changes everything coming up in the draft, and the Mavericks can now breathe easy as Masai Ujiri and Mike Schmitz have found their next head coach before the NBA Draft. We were asking for a coach at least before the draft, and the new-look Mavs front office has come through, hiring one of the hottest coaches in basketball.
Back to the NBA Draft, this possibly sets up Mara to pair with Flagg for a one-two punch the Mavs can use to break the league. Wembanyama's Defensive Player of the Year award has only made 7-foot-4 giants even more valuable.
With Mara trending in draft stock, the May hire can only mean that he would select Mara. A Burries pick should still be on the table, but the obvious Michigan connection is right in front of our nose.
The former Michigan HC has a case to select his Big Ten Player of the Year, Yaxel Lendeborg, but that would make more sense if the Mavs were to trade down to the 12-to-17 range. That's possible considering the Oklahoma City Thunder are looking for a team to trade with.
Schefter adds that May's resume at Michigan is as clear as it can get. He led the Wolverines to a 64-13 record over two seasons and took Florida Atlantic to the Final Four in 2023.
Can we also say the Flagg effect is very real? It's an attraction to coach one of the young risers of the NBA, and it's clear Flagg is going in the direction of LeBron James or even Michael Jordan. Flagg and Jordan are the only NBA rookies in history to lead their team in total points, rebounds, assists and steals in a single season.
This hire is sending shockwaves across the NBA, as the Mavs finally get their Jason Kidd replacement.
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