The Dallas Mavericks are in a completely new era as a franchise. Masai Ujiri was brought in to run the team, and he decided to hire Dusty May. May is coming off a national championship while he was with Michigan in just his second year with the program.
However, May decided to quickly pivot and take the job in Dallas. He becomes the first college coach to get an NBA head coaching job since John Beilein was hired in Cleveland in 2019. He resigned from the Cavaliers after just 54 games, losing 40 of those.
May recently revealed why he decided to make the leap from college basketball to the NBA.
GettyDallas Mavericks head coach Dusty May talks to the media. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
Dusty May Reveals Why He Took the Mavericks Job
While speaking to The Athletic, May said he first thought about it after the Big Ten meetings in the Spring.
“I was so excited for Big Ten meetings, like ‘we’re going to find some solutions,’ I go there, and I was just like, ‘Oh my God, nothing’s getting fixed. Ever.’”
More of the desire to take the job was to get away from the collegiate game, which is happening more often. In college football, coaches are heading to the NFL to get away from the messiness of NIL and the Transfer Portal. Jeff Hafley left being a head coach at Boston College in order to be the defensive coordinator with the Packers. Now, he’s a head coach with the Dolphins.
May also indicated that coaching Cooper Flagg was extremely enticing to him, as well. However, it seems the main reason for making the jump to the NBA was that he was fed up with the state of college basketball. He wanted to spend more time actually coaching his team instead of other things.
The Mavericks were one of the worst teams in the NBA a year ago. They finished with the seventh-worst record in the league. Shortly after that, Patrick Dumont decided to clean house and start over with the staff.
GettyDallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg dribbles the ball in a game. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Dallas Has a Steep Hill To Climb in its Rebuild
While May was quickly able to build a winner at Michigan, he will have a much steeper hill to climb. Dallas had the fourth-worst offense in the league. However, they will be healthier heading into this season, as Kyrie Irving is fully recovered from his torn ACL.
May also has one of his former players at Michigan on the roster. The Mavericks drafted Morez Johnson with the ninth overall pick in the draft. Flagg will be in his second year, and he will actually have a point guard passing him the ball. It will be hard to be worse than last year.
Still, May is going to have an issue turning Dallas into a playoff team next season. The rest of the Western Conference is in a much better spot.
Mavericks’ Head Coach Dusty May on Why he Left Michigan: ‘Nothing’s Getting Fixed’