Mavericks hire Dusty May as next Head Coach

[KillerLeft]

Also said PJ right?  Mentioned Klay in passing but I think Masai kicked him under the table and he stopped

Marshall and Gafford being the two names not mentioned is interesting.  Could be nothing or could be something.

Yeah, others went on to focus on who May spoke about, which was interesting. My initial point that you quoted was about who Ujiri mentioned in his opening statement. Wall to wall sub-25 year olds, and it wasn't the first time he's done that. 

It might not mean a thing, but it's interesting.

[cow]

What is it you don't like about him. Is it just that he can't handle the ball much? Not impactful enough on defense? 

From my seat, Christie is literally the only legit shooter on the entire roster. Since I believe they need 3-4 more of those, dumping Christie never even enters my mind.

I don't think he's a particularly smart player and that makes his other shortcomings harder for me to overlook.  My flippantness aside, he'd be hard to trade at this point unless you are getting another SG back or signing a few in free agency.  It's why I'd take any comments from coaching staff or management with a grain of salt.  

p.s.  Klay is also offended by your comments and Poulakidas is wondering if you even know who he is.

[KillerLeft]

p.s.  Klay is also offended by your comments and Poulakidas is wondering if you even know who he is.

I actually DID forget about Poulakidas when I wrote that, lol. 

Thompson won't be here, I don't think. If there's ONE guy I'd bet real money on them definitely trading soon, it's him. They'll obviously not want to extend him, they have room under the tax line to add salary and there are loads of teams desperately wanting to reduce salary over the next year or two. His expiring deal is probably one of the better trade chips they have right now, with no financial excuse not to use it.

[SleepingHero]

Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2)
Dusty May on playing bigger lineups: "We have two goals. One, to be enjoyable to watch...The other is to make sure we're equipped to win any type of game."

[Winter]

What is it you don't like about him. Is it just that he can't handle the ball much? Not impactful enough on defense? 

From my seat, Christie is literally the only legit shooter on the entire roster. Since I believe they need 3-4 more of those, dumping Christie never even enters my mind.

Not that you asked me, but in my humble opinion, he's still a rotation player. He was better this season with his shooting percentage, so we certainly need him. But to me, there were a lot of games where it just didn't feel like he had any impact. He seems too cautious.

As someone pointed out, it may not make much sense to evaluate him during last year's tank-a-thon. He may just turn out to be a different player with a coach like May, so I'm game to see how he plays this year.

[KillerLeft]

Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2)
Dusty May on playing bigger lineups: "We have two goals. One, to be enjoyable to watch...The other is to make sure we're equipped to win any type of game."

I loved that answer.

[cow]

I actually DID forget about Poulakidas when I wrote that, lol. 

Thompson won't be here, I don't think. If there's ONE guy I'd bet real money on them definitely trading soon, it's him. They'll obviously not want to extend him, they have room under the tax line to add salary and there are loads of teams desperately wanting to reduce salary over the next year or two. His expiring deal is probably one of the better trade chips they have right now, with no financial excuse not to use it.

Klay's been a good soldier, but I don't think we'll pay to to move off him and I'm not sure anyone would pay to acquire him.  I could see him still being with the team when you add up all those factors.

[Scott41theMavs]

I don't think he's a particularly smart player and that makes his other shortcomings harder for me to overlook.  My flippantness aside, he'd be hard to trade at this point unless you are getting another SG back or signing a few in free agency.  It's why I'd take any comments from coaching staff or management with a grain of salt.  

p.s.  Klay is also offended by your comments and Poulakidas is wondering if you even know who he is.

Well, if you're right about the low BBIQ, given Masai and Schmitz's reputational preferences, he's likely not here long for the Mavs.

[Scott41theMavs]

Klay's been a good soldier, but I don't think we'll pay to to move off him and I'm not sure anyone would pay to acquire him.  I could see him still being with the team when you add up all those factors.

I would say his most likely fate is to be included in a larger trade and redirected where he wants to go.

[KillerLeft]

I would say his most likely fate is to be included in a larger trade and redirected where he wants to go.

Yeah, the expiring contract is valuable, even if that's ALL teams want (which I don't think is necessarily true). 

Really tough for me to imagine he's still here for the beginning of the season.

[cow]

Well, if you're right about the low BBIQ, given Masai and Schmitz's reputational preferences, he's likely not here long for the Mavs.

I wouldn't say it's even necessarily a low BBIQ thing, but rather where he belongs in the pecking order.  The double edged sword of confidence and when to deploy that confidence.  That would be somewhat forgivable if he were a better prospect, but it seems to me like he's only good one standout skill.  I've been wrong before and have died on many a hill.

[Chicagojk]

Interesting that Morez didn't know Dallas liked him until the day before the draft.   May says he didn't know they were picking Morez until right before the pick was made.  It sounds like Dallas got a lot of May's thoughts on his prospects and others leading up, but May was not in the inner circle it appears on their thinking.

[Winter]

Interesting that Morez didn't know Dallas liked him until the day before the draft.   May says he didn't know they were picking Morez until right before the pick was made.  It sounds like Dallas got a lot of May's thoughts on his prospects and others leading up, but May was not in the inner circle it appears on their thinking.

My take is May must not have made his acceptance to be HC official until a day or two before the draft. As you recall, they didn't announce his hiring until the day before the draft. Maybe Masai simply kept that information secret until he knew for sure. 

If May had actually "officially" accepted the job several days before the draft, I think they would have told him. I can't think of a reason not to.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Interesting that Morez didn't know Dallas liked him until the day before the draft.   May says he didn't know they were picking Morez until right before the pick was made.  It sounds like Dallas got a lot of May's thoughts on his prospects and others leading up, but May was not in the inner circle it appears on their thinking.

When I watch this clip... 

https://www.mavsboard.com/showthread.php?tid=4358&pid=277356#pid277356

Isn't that him reacting to the Mavs drafting Morez Johnson?  It almost looks like he is pumped the front office listened to him and drafted his guy.

[Dundalis]

When I watch this clip... 

https://www.mavsboard.com/showthread.php?tid=4358&pid=277356#pid277356

Isn't that him reacting to the Mavs drafting Morez Johnson?  It almost looks like he is pumped the front office listened to him and drafted his guy.

I thought that was his reaction to Mara or maybe Yaxel. Pretty sure it wasn't Morez.

[Chicagojk]

When I started watching highlights after the college season I thought Yaxel looked exactly like PJ Washington in his movements. Now Yaxel may have die the ball better than PJ and did wind up around two inches taller, but I wonder is Dusty sees PJ and thinks Yaxel?

[KillerLeft]

This is the type of thing I love in a coach and have missed the past several years. I find things like this quite encouraging about the new guy:


Christian Clark
https://x.com/christianpclark/status/207...73891?s=20

"Dusty May has a hard drive loaded with his favorite actions teams across the world run. 

Story on the Dallas Mavericks “basketball junkie” coach who believes the line between college and the NBA is blurring. Free to read here:"

[windjc]

This is the type of thing I love in a coach and have missed the past several years. I find things like this quite encouraging about the new guy:


Christian Clark
https://x.com/christianpclark/status/207...73891?s=20

"Dusty May has a hard drive loaded with his favorite actions teams across the world run. 

Story on the Dallas Mavericks “basketball junkie” coach who believes the line between college and the NBA is blurring. Free to read here:"

Yes, we’ve already won free agency.

[Smitty]

@MavsFilmRoom
Dusty May says that he wants the Mavericks to play at a “top-5 pace” this season.


Dusty May on what he wants Mavs fans to feel at the end of the 2026-27 season:

“To feel like there’s a championship on the horizon… go into next offseason feeling like we’re one step closer to that championship puzzle”


https://youtu.be/nfp2N4o53m0?si=sqggqFiNB0w6DZYh

[KillerLeft]

@MavsFilmRoom
Dusty May says that he wants the Mavericks to play at a “top-5 pace” this season.


Dusty May on what he wants Mavs fans to feel at the end of the 2026-27 season:

“To feel like there’s a championship on the horizon… go into next offseason feeling like we’re one step closer to that championship puzzle”


https://youtu.be/nfp2N4o53m0?si=sqggqFiNB0w6DZYh

Another notch in the "good coaching hire" column, if he can follow through on this. 

A faster pace would unquestionably help this team unlock all the athletes they're accumulating and provide a much more entertaining product. This is something that every coach talks about, generally, but his "top-5" qualifier is bold and leads me to believe he's pretty serious about this.