Mavericks hiring NCAA Champion coach would present intriguing draft trade scenario

The Dallas Mavericks have shown interest in hiring Michigan's Dusty May to be their next head coach to replace Jason Kidd. This interest is exploratory at this juncture, given that May just led the Wolverines to a National Championship, and it remains unknown if the college titan would be interested in leaving Michigan. But if Dallas hires him before the 2026 NBA Draft, an intriguing trade-down opportunity could present itself on draft night that the Mavs would have to at least consider.

While at Michigan, May coached Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr., and Aday Mara. All three players helped the Wolverines form a huge frontcourt that helped them win March Madness. Why fans should care about these players, though, is that all three are poised to be drafted in the top 20 of the draft, and Dallas could target them if they hire May. The Mavs currently only have one top-20 pick (No. 9), but that could quickly change if Mike Schmitz and Masai Ujiri want to trade back.

Dallas could look to trade down for former Wolverines under May

If Dallas hires May, they could look to explore trading down from the ninth spot to acquire two first-round picks and draft two of these former Michigan players. Teams like the Charlotte Hornets and Oklahoma City Thunder each have two picks in the 12 through 18 range, and the Mavericks could look to make a deal with one of these teams to get some additional draft capital.

They need more than one young player to put around Cooper Flagg, and trading back to draft two of May's former players would start his Mavericks journey with a bang.

All three of Mara, Johnson Jr., and Lendeborg are excellent fits in Dallas, with each player addressing separate areas of need for the Mavs.

Mara would give the Mavs elite rim protection, passing out of the big-man spot, and incredible size. At 7-foot-3, Mara will immediately become one of the tallest players in the NBA. If Dallas were to draft him, they would have a new, reliable center to add to the young core with Flagg.

Drafting Mara would likely mean that Dereck Lively II or Daniel Gafford would be traded, but the fit still makes sense. Ujiri values positional size, and it'd be a major steal if the Mavericks could trade down to draft him — especially since many early mock drafts had him as a near-lock to go in the top eight.

Lendeborg and Johnson Jr. would give Dallas a monster frontcourt

Lendeborg would also give the Mavs incredible positional size. He measured at 6-foot-8.75 barefoot at the NBA Combine with a 7-foot-3.25 wingspan. This is the exact size that teams want on the wing, but he's much more than height and length.

He averaged 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 blocks, and 1.1 steals per game last season while shooting 37.2 percent from downtown, playing a key role in Michigan's offense. His connectivity, 3-point shooting, and underrated ball handling helped him become one of the best players in the country, and he looks NBA-ready at 23 years old.

Lendeborg also projects to be a defender who can guard multiple positions, making him an ideal candidate for players that Ujiri typically targets.

With Johnson Jr., Dallas would be getting one of the most underrated players in the entire draft. At 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-3.5 wingspan, he has the frame to be a dominant power forward who can do it all.

He's an excellent finisher inside, and his toughness, effort, and ferocious defense make him look like someone who will be an excellent frontcourt defender at the next level. His strength allows him to hang with players down low and his lateral quickness makes him look like someone who will be able to defend quicker players on the perimeter.

On top of all of this, he also looks like he could be a floor spacer at the next level. Johnson Jr. shot 17-of-25 in the 3-point star drill at the NBA Draft Combine, showing that he could develop into a floor spacer one day.

All three Michigan players would fit on the Mavericks

Dallas landing any of these players after trading back would be a dream come true, and a case can be made that any combination of these three players would fit on the Mavericks next to Flagg. They can all defend at an extremely high level, and most importantly, they're winners.

Mara looks like he'll be a high-quality starting center who has the potential to be an offensive hub.
Lendeborg is a two-way monster who can fit into any offense and already has immense experience.
Johnson Jr. is a monster inside who brings strong defense and toughness.

Each of these players would play massive roles on a team with Flagg, and with May as their head coach in the NBA, the sky would be the limit.

May helped all three of these players raise their draft stock significantly over the last year at Michigan, and he'd surely help them continue this upward trend in their developmental path in the NBA as well.

He would be an excellent option to become the next coach of the Mavs, and if they hire him soon, the team could explore this type of trade scenario to reunite him with his former players. May got the most out of them at the collegiate level, and building a potential dynasty around them in the pros would be the next test for the 49-year-old coach.

This will depend on how high Ujiri and Schmitz are on these players, and if they hire May, they should have glowing scouting reports for each of them. Trading back to acquire more talent is definitely an avenue the Mavericks could consider, given how talented this year's draft is, and these three former Wolverines make sense as trade-down targets.

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