DALLAS \u2013 Dusty May\u2019s only dream growing up was coaching high school basketball in his home state of Indiana.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not to say he isn\u2019t ready for the jump from college to the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks after leading Michigan to its first national championship in 37 years<\/a> this past spring.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is all too big of a dream,\u201d May said Monday at his introductory news conference, a week after news broke that the Mavericks were close to a deal with the 49-year-old<\/a> with an impressive college resume.<\/p>\n \u201cI did start preparing for this years ago, going to watch and trying to figure out if I could do this well. But as far as dreaming about coaching in the NBA, I never dreamed of coaching in the NBA, of coaching college, of coaching anywhere other than just being a coach in high school in my state. So as far a dream, no, this wasn\u2019t a dream. But now, I\u2019ve been preparing for this, to go against the best, for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n May spoke with new president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri<\/a> to his left on a stage on the practice court of the club\u2019s arena. His wife and three boys were in the first row, with reigning Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg<\/a> right behind them.<\/p>\n Also in the crowd was Morez Johnson Jr., drafted No. 9 overall<\/a> last week by the Mavericks as the first of three Michigan players<\/a> taken in a span of four lottery selections.<\/p>\n Yaxel Lendeborg, the No. 11 choice before Aday Mara went one pick later, had jokingly accused May of playing favorites with Johnson. May has no problem with that characterization now.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m on Rez\u2019s team now, so he\u2019s definitely my favorite,\u201d said May, who reiterated new general manager Mike Schmitz\u2019s message on draft night that May had little to do with Dallas picking Johnson. \u201cThose guys, they had some friendly banter with all that. But the beautiful part of it, there was never any envy. These guys were each other\u2019s biggest fans. And that\u2019s one thing that we want to bring here to the Dallas Mavericks.\u201d<\/p>\n A sudden shift<\/p>\n May is replacing Jason Kidd, who was let go<\/a> two weeks after Ujiri was hired<\/a>. The Mavericks have missed the playoffs the past two seasons after reaching the 2024 NBA Finals behind Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.<\/p>\n The landscape shifted suddenly with the shocking trade of Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February 2025. Nico Harrison, the engineer of that middle-of-the-night deal, was fired as general manager in November with the team off to a slow start last season.<\/p>\n Ujiri didn\u2019t come on board until after Dallas finished with a 26-56 record, its worst since losing 58 games the season before getting Doncic, the third overall pick in 2018.<\/p>\n Schmitz was hired days after Ujiri\u2019s introduction, and with the coaching staff complete, the Mavericks have wrapped up 17 months of upheaval by finishing the move into a new era.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to bring joy back to basketball here,\u201d Ujiri said. \u201cIt is a goal and I know we\u2019re going to do it and I know the beginning of this joy and this goal starts here with this guy that we welcome as our basketball coach.\u201d<\/p>\n May\u2019s new roster<\/p>\n Flagg is the centerpiece of a roster that includes two veterans with NBA championship pedigrees in Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson. Irving missed all of last season after tearing the ACL in his left knee in March 2025, a month after the Doncic trade.<\/p>\n Johnson has a chance to contribute to a frontcourt that includes 2023 first-round pick Dereck Lively II, whose career has been plagued by injuries, fellow center Daniel Gafford and forward P.J. Washington Jr.<\/p>\n Irving improves the outlook of the backcourt considerably, and the Mavericks on Monday exercised their 2026-27 contract option on point guard Ryan Nembhard, an undrafted rookie a year ago.<\/p>\n Flagg played plenty of point guard early in his only season under Kidd and has said he\u2019ll be better for it if he settles into a more familiar role as a wing or small forward.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have some really unique pieces,\u201d May said. \u201cMasai said, we\u2019re here to win. When you have the nucleus we have, you can figure out a way to overachieve until you become the best team.\u201d<\/p>\n Easing the transition?<\/p>\n Seven years ago, another Michigan coach \u2014 John Beilein \u2014 made the jump to the NBA but didn\u2019t last one season. May has the advantage of his two seasons with the Wolverines coming in the era of players being paid for name, image and likeness.<\/p>\n May, who also led Florida Atlantic to its only Final Four appearance, sees \u201csimilar problems, similar issues, similar challenges\u201d in college and pro games that are \u201ccloser than ever.\u201d He also sees limits to his advantage.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like being a parent,\u201d May said. \u201cYou\u2019re never prepared, you\u2019re never ready. But hopefully you\u2019ve prepared and done everything in your power to tackle all the challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n