The Dallas Mavericks are underway in their search for a new head coach following the departure of Jason Kidd from the role. As is always the case with these things, multiple names are flying about social media as people try to draw rational conclusions (former Masai Ujiri contacts, assistant coaches on the cusp of taking the next step) as to which coach will helm the Mavericks next.
Officially, we know very little beyond Ujiri’s comments from his introductory press conference, which generally amounts
to every aspect of the franchise being looked at and no real limitations to what would be considered. To that end, what was heretofore a list predominantly made up of coaches that had NBA experience, has now expanded to include some college names – and some notable ones at that. Various reports are surfacing that the Mavs are having exploratory discussions with the likes of Jon Scheyer and Dusty May.
Jon Scheyer
Scheyer played four years at Duke from 2006-2010, culminating in a National Championship in his final season as a player. Scheyer was a key contributor for the Blue Devils in his playing days, and is the only player in program history to have logged 2,000 points, 500 rebounds, 400 assists and 200 steals while also connecting on 250 three-point attempts. He returned to Duke as an assistant coach in 2013 under the further tutelage of his former coach and basketball legend Mike Krzyzewski, whom he ultimately took the reigns from in 2022.
Dusty May
May took over the head coaching duties at Michigan in 2024, replacing Juwan Howard (who ironically had a stint as a player for the Mavericks during his 19 year playing career). In his first year, he led the Wolverines to a 27-10 record. His encore was a 37-3 campaign this past season, good for a National Championship.
The appeal of both coaches is apparent
In Scheyer’s case, he coached franchise cornerstone Cooper Flagg, as well as a number of other current Mavericks as the team is somewhat stacked with Duke alumni. He had a highly accomplished collegiate playing career under one of the greatest college coaches ever, and then took over a lauded program from that same coach – a daunting proposition for sure – and hardly missed a beat. In fact, he is the winningest coach across his first four seasons in NCAA history (124-25).
May is quite literally at the top of the college game and has become all but a household name after the Wolverine’s recent run to the National Championship just a few months ago. He was unsurprisingly named Big 10 Coach of the Year to boot. He announced his own arrival in 2023 when he somewhat improbably led Florida Atlantic University to the Final Four.
The questions we must ask
Would either of these coaches have a seamless transition to the NBA level, where the game is much different and players need (and accept) far less instruction than is often a hallmark of coaching at the collegiate level? Would either of them want to leave the absolutely sweet situations they currently find themselves in? Those are questions that have yet to be answered, but the fact the Mavericks are maintaining a broad search window is a good sign. They should be looking at every possible angle for their next head coach, as the team is at a critical juncture heading into a rebuild around Flagg. Even if this next head coach proves to be a transitional one (which, barring disaster, would likely not be the case for these two men), it’s important to nail the hire as someone who can get the best out of younger players while managing whatever veterans are sure to remain on the roster.
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