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Michigan basketball coach Dusty May reached the top of the mountain in just his second year in Ann Arbor, winning a national title in the 2025-26 season with the Wolverines.
Could he be interested in taking a step up in his career now?
Writing for "The Stein Line" Substack, NBA insider Jake Fischer indicated that the Dallas Mavericks will speak to "a dozen or so candidates" about their open coaching position and have already reached out to at least two high-profile college coaches: May and Duke's Jon Scheyer.
"It remains to be seen whether Duke's Jon Scheyer or Michigan's Dusty May reach full-fledged candidate status with Dallas since both are so entrenched with their universities, but league sources tell The Stein Line that there has been exploratory conversation with both college titans to try to determine if there is any interest," he writes.
The interest in May shouldn't come as a surprise, as the 49-year-old coach has won at both his college stops, sporting a 190-82 overall record in six seasons at Florida Atlantic (2018-24) and two seasons at Michigan (2024-26). His most recent season was his most successful, as the Wolverines went 37-3 overall and ran through the NCAA Tournament for the program's first national championship since 1989.
However, according to Fischer, the Mavs might be more interested in hiring someone already in the professional ranks.
"Yet the more realistic outcome for Dallas remains hiring someone from within the NBA, and, to that end, sources say that the Mavericks have either already registered official interest or plan to do so with a number of prominent assistant coaches," he writes.
But if the Mavs pivot towards the college ranks, there may be no better candidate than May.
It might take the Mavericks a lot to pry May away from Ann Arbor, however, with Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel revealing on April 11 that the school and May agreed to a new contract.
"He will be the leader of this basketball team for many years to come," he told a crowd of Michigan fans at Crisler Center during the team's championship celebration.
The Mavericks are coming off a 26-56 season under fifth-year coach Jason Kidd, with the team and coach agreeing to a mutual separation on May 19. New team president Masai Ujiri, best known for leading the Toronto Raptors to their first NBA title in 2019, and general manager Mike Schmitz are now leading the search for Dallas' next coach.
"You want a great leader, a clear communicator, someone who collaborates, someone who is invested in the alignment of the organization," Schmitz said in an article from NBA.com posted on June 1. "You’re evaluating all those things. But those are some of the characteristics we’re looking for. We’re looking at everything."
With 2025-26 Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg and three-time All-NBA point guard Kyrie Irving as the two centerpieces of the roster (coincidentally both former Duke players), the Dallas job could be attractive for any coach looking to build a team into a consistent contender. And with May already coaching plenty of NBA-level talent over the past two seasons at Michigan, he could fit in well at the NBA level, especially with a talent like Flagg to build around.
All of that depends on whether May has changed his mind, however. Back in April, our Wolverines insider Tony Garcia reported that May "will not be seeking other jobs this offseason," though at the time that was based on speculation that May might be interested in coaching at North Carolina.
Need to catch up on the news during your lunch break? Sign up for our Sports Briefing newsletter to get daily summaries of Detroit sports!
You can reach Christian at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mavericks have reportedly reached out to Michigan coach Dusty May
Continue reading...
Could he be interested in taking a step up in his career now?
Writing for "The Stein Line" Substack, NBA insider Jake Fischer indicated that the Dallas Mavericks will speak to "a dozen or so candidates" about their open coaching position and have already reached out to at least two high-profile college coaches: May and Duke's Jon Scheyer.
"It remains to be seen whether Duke's Jon Scheyer or Michigan's Dusty May reach full-fledged candidate status with Dallas since both are so entrenched with their universities, but league sources tell The Stein Line that there has been exploratory conversation with both college titans to try to determine if there is any interest," he writes.
The interest in May shouldn't come as a surprise, as the 49-year-old coach has won at both his college stops, sporting a 190-82 overall record in six seasons at Florida Atlantic (2018-24) and two seasons at Michigan (2024-26). His most recent season was his most successful, as the Wolverines went 37-3 overall and ran through the NCAA Tournament for the program's first national championship since 1989.
However, according to Fischer, the Mavs might be more interested in hiring someone already in the professional ranks.
"Yet the more realistic outcome for Dallas remains hiring someone from within the NBA, and, to that end, sources say that the Mavericks have either already registered official interest or plan to do so with a number of prominent assistant coaches," he writes.
But if the Mavs pivot towards the college ranks, there may be no better candidate than May.
Dusty May already under contract with Michigan
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It might take the Mavericks a lot to pry May away from Ann Arbor, however, with Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel revealing on April 11 that the school and May agreed to a new contract.
"He will be the leader of this basketball team for many years to come," he told a crowd of Michigan fans at Crisler Center during the team's championship celebration.
The Mavericks are coming off a 26-56 season under fifth-year coach Jason Kidd, with the team and coach agreeing to a mutual separation on May 19. New team president Masai Ujiri, best known for leading the Toronto Raptors to their first NBA title in 2019, and general manager Mike Schmitz are now leading the search for Dallas' next coach.
"You want a great leader, a clear communicator, someone who collaborates, someone who is invested in the alignment of the organization," Schmitz said in an article from NBA.com posted on June 1. "You’re evaluating all those things. But those are some of the characteristics we’re looking for. We’re looking at everything."
With 2025-26 Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg and three-time All-NBA point guard Kyrie Irving as the two centerpieces of the roster (coincidentally both former Duke players), the Dallas job could be attractive for any coach looking to build a team into a consistent contender. And with May already coaching plenty of NBA-level talent over the past two seasons at Michigan, he could fit in well at the NBA level, especially with a talent like Flagg to build around.
All of that depends on whether May has changed his mind, however. Back in April, our Wolverines insider Tony Garcia reported that May "will not be seeking other jobs this offseason," though at the time that was based on speculation that May might be interested in coaching at North Carolina.
Need to catch up on the news during your lunch break? Sign up for our Sports Briefing newsletter to get daily summaries of Detroit sports!
You can reach Christian at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mavericks have reportedly reached out to Michigan coach Dusty May
Continue reading...
