Steve Kerr\u2019s decision to return to the Warriors’ bench may have quietly changed the course of the NBA coaching landscape.<\/p>\n
ESPN\u2019s Brian Windhorst revealed on the Hoop Collective podcast<\/a> that Dusty May — the newly hired Dallas Mavericks head coach and reigning national championship-winning coach at Michigan — would have been on the Warriors’ coaching short list had Kerr chosen not to return.<\/p>\n \u201cI think had Steve Kerr not re-signed in Golden State, Dusty May would have been on the Warriors\u2019 short list,\u201d Windhorst said. \u201cI think he was on the short list a couple of other places, and he was clearly on the short list for the Mavericks.\u201d<\/p>\n The revelation adds an interesting layer to a hiring that sent shockwaves through both college and professional basketball. May led Michigan to a 37-3 record and the 2026 NCAA National Championship before agreeing to become Dallas\u2019 new head coach — becoming the first coach to leave for the NBA immediately after winning a national title since Kansas\u2019 Larry Brown<\/a> in 1988.<\/p>\n But according to Windhorst, May\u2019s path to Dallas was far from inevitable — and the intrigue around him had been building long before the Mavericks came calling.<\/p>\n \u201cAs far as I know, he agreed to a contract extension at Michigan,\u201d Windhorst said. \u201cObviously he won the national title, but he never signed it. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s unheard of for a college coach to not sign a contract right away, sometimes it goes months, but I think he was keeping an eye on NBA options all along.\u201d<\/p>\n Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel had publicly announced<\/a> during the Wolverines\u2019 championship parade in April that May had agreed to a new deal that would keep him in Ann Arbor for \u201cmany years to come.\u201d No signed contract was ever announced in the months that followed.<\/p>\n The Warriors connection carries an added layer of intrigue for Dubs fans. The Warriors’ No. 11 overall pick Yaxel Lendeborg played under May at Michigan and spoke glowingly about his former coach<\/a> at the combine, saying May ran the Wolverines\u2019 program \u201clike an NBA program\u201d and that his pro-style offense prepared him well for the next level.<\/p>\n Kerr ultimately chose to return to Golden State, and May ended up in Dallas — where he will inherit a roster built around Cooper Flagg<\/a> and reunite with former Michigan forward Morez Johnson Jr.<\/a>, whom the Mavericks selected No. 9 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft.<\/p>\n But for a brief moment this offseason, the Warriors and the national champion coach were closer to crossing paths than anyone knew.<\/p>\n