The Dallas Mavericks made a splash Monday morning, hiring Michigan head coach Dusty May fresh off the Wolverines’ national championship run. And now the question bouncing around NBA draft rooms is whether a Michigan player follows him to Texas.
May is leaving Ann Arbor after just one season, a move that caught plenty of people off guard. He turned Florida Atlantic into a national story, then did the same at Michigan. Dallas reportedly moved fast once Duke’s Jon Scheyer made it clear he wasn’t leaving. The Mavericks went hard after May with full intent to bring him in.
The Michigan center drawing Dallas interest
ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel was among the first to connect the dots. He posted on X that the Mavs could target Aday Mara, Morez Johnson Jr., or Yaxel Lendeborg in Tuesday night’s draft. But within an hour, one name surfaced as a real possibility.
“Over the last hour since the Dusty May news, Michigan’s Aday Mara has suddenly emerged as a very real candidate for the Mavs with the No. 9 pick in tomorrow’s draft,” Siegel wrote, citing league sources. Dallas also is shopping Daniel Gafford, trying to move up from pick No. 30 into the top 20.
Mara is a 7-foot-3 center from Spain who averaged 12 points and 8 rebounds for Michigan this season. His size alone makes him an intriguing option for a Mavericks team that could use frontcourt depth alongside Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving. Mara’s mobility for his height is what scouts keep coming back to.
What May brings to Dallas
May won at Florida Atlantic with a mix of transfers and overlooked recruits. He did the same at Michigan, winning it all in his first year. Dallas is betting that translates to the NBA level. The Mavericks have talent, but they need a coach who can get everyone pulling the same direction. May has a track record of that.
If Dallas does take Mara with the ninth pick, it’s a clear signal that May wants a familiar piece to help install his system. Mara played through May’s schemes all season. He knows the defensive rotations and offensive spacing May prefers. That kind of shorthand matters early in a coaching tenure.
The draft is Tuesday night. Dallas holds pick No. 9 and No. 30. Whether Mara ends up in a Mavericks uniform or not, the May hire already reshaped how teams are approaching this draft board.
Leave a Comment