Mavericks hiring Dusty May away from Michigan in basketball stunner

The Dallas Mavericks are hiring Michigan coach Dusty May to replace Jason Kidd less than three months after May guided the Wolverines to the 2026 national title, CBS Sports' Gary Parrish confirmed. May, 49, will be tasked with guiding the on-court product for a franchise that is reorienting around 2026 Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg.

The Mavericks fired Kidd in May after five seasons after he guided the team to a 26-56 mark in the franchise's first full season following its trading of star Luka Dončić to the Lakers.

May's late-June departure will bring significant ramifications in college basketball. Though the Wolverines are losing several key contributors from their title-winning team, Michigan is welcoming the nation's No. 4 recruiting class and No. 12 transfer class.

Those players and everyone else on Michigan's roster will have 15 days to enter the transfer portal once Michigan's new coach is hired. Assistant coach Mike Boynton is a candidate for internal promotion. Boynton was Oklahoma State's head coach from 2017 to 2024. In a CBS Sports HQ hit, Adam Finkelstein flagged Billy Donovan as an external candidate.

May joins rare club: Won NCAA title, then became NBA HC the next season

	Larry Brown	Dusty May
Year	1988	2026
School	Kansas	Michigan
School next season	Missed NCAAT	?
NBA team next season	Spurs	Mavericks
NBA record next season	21-61	?
🧠 Larry Brown is the only head coach to win both a national title and an NBA title, doing so with the 2004 Pistons.

May is the first college head coach to be hired as an NBA head coach since John Beilein's ill-fated jump from Michigan to the Cavaliers in 2019. Others who have made the college-to-NBA head coaching transition over the past 15 years include Fred Hoiberg, Billy Donovan and Brad Stevens. None are still NBA head coaches.

In May, the Mavericks are getting a coach who has ascended rapidly over the past four years. After guiding a forlorn FAU program to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 2023 and 2024 -- including a stunning 2023 Final Four appearance -- May replaced Juwan Howard at Michigan for the 2024-25 season.

He immediately turned around a program that went 8-24 the season before his arrival by employing a unique, multi-big system. Towering front courts became a hallmark of May's teams during his two-year run with the Wolverines.

The Mavericks own two first-round picks in the 2026 NBA Draft, which begins Tuesday, including the No. 9 overall pick. Former Michigan players Aday Mara, Yaxel Lendeborg and Morez Johnson are among the players expected to go in the back half of the lottery who could be in play for the Mavericks at No. 9.

Where Mavs stand with May incoming

The last 24 months have been a whirlwind for the Mavericks. Just two years ago at this time, they were in the Finals and seemingly headed for another decade of championship contention with Dončić at the helm. We all know what happened after that.

On Feb. 1, 2025, then general manager Nico Harrison decided to trade Dončić to the Lakers for Anthony Davis and little else. Davis is now on the Wizards, Harrison was fired in November, and Kidd was let go after the 2025-26 season.

The Mavs have gone 40-77 since the Dončić trade, but the basketball gods paid them back when they won the 2025 Draft Lottery despite having less than a 2% chance of doing so. With the No. 1 overall pick, they selected Flagg who went on to average 21 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.1 stocks (steals + blocks) per game. He has a real chance to be an All-Star in Year 2, and his presence was undoubtedly one of the most attractive factors for a first-time NBA coach like May.

This is a franchise looking to inject new life into their operation by way of new blood. Masai Ujiri was brought in as team president almost two months ago, and now here comes May with a roster open for a rebuild. The only two players the Mavericks have signed past next season are P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford.

The biggest immediate questions are what to do with Kyrie Irving, who is set to make $39.4 million this season but no longer fits the timeline of this team, and what to do with the No. 9 overall pick in Tuesday's draft. As of now, one CBS Sports mock draft has May quickly reuniting with 7-foot-3 Michigan center Aday Mara.

There is also the chance that Dallas trades down on Tuesday, as Marc Stein has reported that Dallas is interested in a deal with the Thunder that would send out the No. 9 pick in exchange for OKC's No. 12 and No. 17 pick.

May's loss a significant blow to Michigan -- but did we see it coming?

May's 64 wins at Michigan are tied for the most by any head coach in their first two seasons at a school in the last 95 years. The job he did in turning Michigan into college basketball's champion in such short order was historic. But there were also signs it may have still left him wanting.

In an revealing interview this spring with CBS Sports' Matt Norlander, May expressed a serious case of the post-title blues as a result of the new order of college athletics, where coaches immediately turn from the court to the transfer portal and leave little room for enjoyment.

"And I don't know if it's just me, but I'd heard where you climb the ladder and you say, 'Is this really it?' And it was worse. It was less than 'it.' The journey was so much better than the destination. The finality of it all is almost disappointing because you have one of the most special groups of humans you'll ever be around, and at that moment, it all ends.

... "Literally, it's such a blur because there's no time to celebrate. You meet with your seniors, you do exit meetings, you're meeting with your players and trying to figure out what your vision with them will be for the following year. Plugging holes in your roster, trying to make sure you're generating NIL opportunities and attracting businesses and things of that nature."

As Norlander wrote then in the piece: May's words are as honest as they are alarming.

What will Wolverines' incoming talent do?

It's far too soon to tell.

Michigan wasted no time reloading its championship roster with a slew of high-level high school and transfer signees. The Wolverines also paid up to retain the services of point guard Elliot Cadeau and guard Trey McKenney.

Signed and enrolled players can transfer during the 15-day window after Michigan hires a new coach, but they would have to pay the school back any buyouts written into their contracts.