Mavericks too late to interview coach who would've boosted Luka Doncic reunion hopes

San Antonio Spurs lead assistant Sean Sweeney would've been the perfect coach to spearhead Dallas Mavericks fans' dream of bringing Luka Doncic home one day — but Dallas waited too long to interview him. He agreed to become the Orlando Magic's next head coach last week despite the Spurs being deep in the NBA Playoffs, and even though the Mavs missed their chance to interview him, this doesn't mean they didn't try.

Mavericks missed their chance to interview Sean Sweeney

According to NBA insiders Jake Fischer and Marc Stein, Dallas reached out to San Antonio to interview Sweeney (subscription required) last week. Unfortunately for them, the Magic were already too far along in the hiring process for this request to hold much weight.

"League sources say that the Mavericks, now one full month into the Masai Ujiri Era, have indeed begun seeking permission to speak to coaches from rival teams in the wake of Jason Kidd's May 19 ouster after five seasons on the Dallas bench," Stein and Fischer reported. "That includes outreach last week to San Antonio to try to speak to Sweeney that proved futile with Orlando so far down the road in hiring him."

Mavericks fans who wanted Sweeney to become the team's next head coach can rest assured that Dallas at least tried to interview the defensive guru who built a dominant defense around Doncic in Dallas. Sweeney was one of the most respected assistant coaches Jason Kidd ever had in Dallas (coached under him from 2021 until 2025), and his promotion to a head coaching job proves that.

With Sweeney off the board, the ideal coach to try to get Doncic to return is now off limits. He coached No. 77 for three and a half seasons as an assistant, and he was on staff for Dallas' run to the NBA Finals in 2024 and the Western Conference Finals in 2022.

Why Doncic would've loved playing for Sweeney again

Sweeney and Doncic certainly held a close relationship, and notably, Sweeney departed the Mavericks for San Antonio the summer after Doncic was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. The 42-year-old coach even spent time coaching Doncic and the Slovenian National Team following the 2023-24 season.

This was right after the Mavericks reached the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011, and Sweeney's connection with Doncic was obviously strong enough for Doncic to lobby for him to help coach his country's national team. This type of connection between a player and an assistant coach doesn't come around every day.

Doncic values him as a person and coach, and the fact that Sweeney helped build an incredible defense around a superstar not known for his defense is a major success story. Sweeney's coaching on the defensive end made him an extremely intriguing option for the Mavericks, as he would've had the chance to build a scheme around one of the NBA's best young defenders, Cooper Flagg.

Now imagine what a team of Flagg and Doncic would've looked like one day...

The Luka-to-Dallas dream reunion still isn't dead

It's still possible that Dallas makes a push for Luka Magic if he hits free agency in 2028, but they lost out on a coach who already has a strong, established connection with him. Playing for a head coach that you enjoy being around is certainly important, and given how rocky things were between Doncic and Kidd, and before Rick Carlisle, Sweeney would've been a nice change of pace if Doncic were to return.

If Sweeney were hired by the Mavs, this could have strengthened their chance at luring Doncic back to Dallas at some point. Mavs fans have coined Doncic's potential return in a few years as "Project 2028," since the Slovenian superstar has a player option in his contract after the 2027-28 season. Anticipating that he'll opt out in hopes of getting a bigger payday by the Lakers or someone else, fans are hoping that he would at least consider coming to play for the Mavs again.

He believed he'd play for Dallas his whole career before being blindsided by their decision to trade him, and returning to the Mavericks would be a story for the ages. Mavericks fans still love him, and the American Airlines Center doesn’t feel the same without Luka Magic.

Even if Dallas doesn’t land Doncic in 2028, there’s still a chance that he joins the team further down the line as well. Mavericks legend Derek Harper believes that Doncic will retire a Maverick, and the connection that Doncic has with the city of Dallas may be too powerful for him to overlook.

The Mavericks will have a shot at reuniting with Doncic one day, even though Sweeney signed elsewhere, but the new head coach would’ve certainly made things easier for Dallas. The Mavs already parted ways with Nico Harrison and Jason Kidd, two of the main figures from the Doncic-Anthony Davis trade, and bringing in a coach that Doncic loves would’ve been the cherry on top of a beautiful potential recruiting pitch for Doncic to finish what he started in Dallas.

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