Michigan head coach Dusty May is leaving the Wolverines and heading to the NBA, becoming the Dallas Mavericks next head coach.
Here are the key takeaways from May’s departure.
Current college basketball climate swayed May’s decision
Matt Norlander of CBS Sports had some enlightening insight into a conversation he had with May back in April. Dealing with agents of transfer portal players and all the NIL dealings presently and the roster turnover that goes along with it are just some of the factors that influenced May heading to the Mavericks. Further, May wanted to test his chops in the NBA.
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From CBS Sports
I remember how May stopped texting and looked up from this phone when I asked him: “Do you think you’ll be coaching Michigan in three or four years?”
“No,” he admitted. “I can’t see myself doing this for too much longer.”
By that he meant: running a college basketball program when roster prices were increasing by 300% every year. The constant roster churn, the lack of the NCAA’s institutional control over college basketball, the way the system stole some of the fervor and celebration windows from Michigan’s coaching staff after pulling off one of the best seasons of the past two decades.
May told me he aspired to coach in the NBA someday. He craved to know if he could do it and felt compelled to eventually find out — especially if the state of college basketball was going to be perpetually chaotic. I left him wondering how long it would take for that day to arrive.
Warde Manuel has a habit of losing championship coaches
Jim Harbaugh won a national championship for the football program and then departed for the Los Angeles Chargers after Manuel said a contract was being worked at the podium of the national championship celebration. Manuel then did the same thing after Michigan basketball won the national championship, saying that a new contract with May was agred upon only for May to leave for the Mavericks a little over two months later.
Maize n Brew’s Nick Durand summed up Manuel’s lack of getting deals done perfectly
Yet that’s what the university has become under Manuel’s leadership. In both May’s and Harbaugh’s cases, rumored contract extensions were on the table for them at the time of their departures. In fact, Manuel claimed at the national title celebration that he and May agreed to terms on a new contract. It’s not abnormal for coaches to have aspirations beyond just winning a national title at the college level; Harbaugh’s flirtations with the NFL were no secret, and the same was clearly true for May. It shouldn’t matter, though, when your university is one of the best, richest and historic in the nation.
The Mavericks job is an appealing one
The Mavericks have a young star in Cooper Flagg and a still game-changing veteran in Kyrie Irving. The Mavericks have three picks in the NBA Draft, which starts on Tuesday, and the Mavericks could wind up drafting one or two Michigan players.
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From The Athletic’s Christian Clark
In coaching circles, the Mavericks’ job was considered appealing because of Flagg’s presence. The Mavericks are expected to go into next season with Flagg and Kyrie Irving as cornerstones. They control the Nos. 9, 30 and 48 selections in this week’s NBA Draft.
They have discussed a variety of trade-back scenarios, including one, according to league sources, that would net Dallas the No. 16 pick that Memphis currently controls. Three Michigan players who suited up for May last season — Aday Mara, Morez Johnson Jr. and Yaxel Lendeborg — are expected to be first-round picks Tuesday.
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