Mavericks Coaching Search: Top Candidates to Elevate Cooper Flagg in Dallas

The Dallas Mavericks are making headway in their search for a new head coach after parting ways with Jason Kidd in May. Armed with a superstar in the making in reigning Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg , two first-round picks in the draft later this month, and a roster that has a stable of quality players on it, it's an attractive job for any coach on the open market.

With new team president Masai Ujiri and general manager Mike Schmitz, the Mavericks are attempting to turn the page on what has been a tumultuous 16 months since the disastrous trade of Luka Doncic in February 2025. Since that boneheaded decision, Dallas has since fired the general manager who made that trade in Nico Harrison, traded away the centerpiece player of the return in Anthony Davis and ousted its head coach. And in the middle of all that, the Mavericks also got the biggest bailout of all when they lucked into the No. 1 pick in the 2025 Draft, which landed them another generational player in Flagg.

The next coach will be tasked with furthering Flagg's development and setting the Mavericks on the path back towards contention. There's a handful of solid names out there, and Marc Stein  reports  that Dallas is expected to speak with more than a dozen coaches en route to finding the right fit. Let's take a look at some of the names attached to the job and break down how they'd fit with the Mavericks.

A pair of collegiate candidates

Almost immediately after Kidd was let go, one of the names that naturally popped up was Duke coach Jon Scheyer, who coached Flagg during his lone season with the Blue Devils. A season where Duke made it to the Final Four with Flagg leading the way. Stein reports that the Mavericks have had "exploratory" conversations with Scheyer to gauge his interest in the position, though it's unclear if he's itching to leave perhaps the best college hoops post in the country. Duke sits No. 2 in CBS Sports' latest college basketball rankings after returning four of their top six scorers and picking up some quality players in the transfer portal. The Blue Devils will be title contenders again next season, and that's a pretty difficult position to walk away from if you're Scheyer.

The Mavericks have also reportedly reached out to Michigan coach Dusty May, who is coming off a national championship this past season. Again, the likelihood that he or Scheyer would want to bolt their current positions is low, but it's always worth checking to see if a prized candidate can fall into the Mavericks' lap.

With both candidates, the Mavericks would be taking a gamble on seeing if either's collegiate success can translate to the NBA . It's not always a guarantee that a top-tier college coach can hack it in the pros, though they'd be entering a situation in Dallas where expectations wouldn't be terribly high to start out. This is a position where the coach can grow with players like Flagg, which could be an ideal situation for someone like Scheyer or May if they are indeed considering the jump to the NBA.

A crop of elite assistant coaches

A more expected route the Mavericks could take is hiring one of the league's top assistant coaches on the market. They already reached out to San Antonio's associate head coach Sean Sweeney, who served under Kidd for several seasons, but he ultimately accepted the Orlando Magic's coaching position.

A name that has surfaced in the last few coaching cycles is Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori. I've already written about what Nori would bring to the Mavericks as a defensive-minded coach who would elevate Dallas' stature on that end of the floor. Giving Nori someone like Flagg to develop would be a treat to watch, as the reigning Rookie of the Year has already shown flashes of being an All-Defensive level player on that end of the floor.

Other names the Mavericks are expected to explore are Houston Rockets assistant Royal Ivey, Raptors assistant Jama Mahlalela, Celtics assistant Tony Dobbins and Miami Heat consultant Noah LaRoche.

Ivey served as an assistant under Billy Donovan in OKC, David Fizdale in New York, and Steve Nash in Brooklyn. He's also been the head coach of South Sudan's national team since 2021. Under his tutelage, South Sudan reached the quarterfinals at AfroBasket 2021, earned a World Cup berth in 2023 and made the country's first Olympic appearance in 2024. Ivey has experience coaching a variety of star players like Kevin Durant , James Harden and Russell Westbrook . He also spent time on the sidelines in Brooklyn when Kyrie Irving was there, so there's familiarity with the star guard if he remains on the Mavericks past this summer.

Mahlalela's been involved with the Raptors various times since 2006, when he started as a member of the community development staff. He became an assistant coach with Toronto in 2013, then was named the head coach of the G League affiliate in 2018. Mahalela spent two seasons as an assistant coach under Steve Kerr from 2021 to 2023, during which the team won a championship in 2022. He then returned as an assistant with the Raptors in 2023. There's an obvious connection between Mahlalela and Ujiri, as their time in Toronto overlapped.

Dobbins started his coaching career in 2020 with the Celtics after a professional career that spanned 13 years, primarily overseas. Though his coaching resume is short, he's quickly risen through the ranks in Boston's organization as a defensive-oriented coach. He served as the Celtics summer league coach in 2023 and was integral in Jayson Tatum's recovery from an Achilles tear last season. Tatum praised Dobbins , saying, "I can't thank him enough for his selflessness and just really being engaged with me every single day." Jaylen Brown similarly has nothing but positive things to say about Dobbins, highlighting his patience. "Managing the emotions of the game is what he speaks to a lot, because the better players -- the better professionals -- can manage their stress levels and their emotions during the game, so that they can see the game clearly," Brown said of Dobbins in February.

The last name on the list is LaRoche, who briefly served as an assistant under Taylor Jenkins in Memphis before the Grizzlies cleaned house of their coaching staff in 2025. He was brought into Miami this season as a consultant to help reimagine the Heat's offense. He's worked with a variety of NBA players in the offseason as a trainer and consultant, and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra called him an "innovative coaching mind." That's high praise from one of the most well-respected coaches in the league, and he's not wrong, either. LaRoache installed a more free-flowing, uptempo style of offense in Memphis, then did the same in Miami. That would be welcomed in Dallas with a burgeoning star in Flagg, who excels more in getting downhill and playing in transition.

A former head coach with Mavericks ties

Another name the Mavericks reportedly plan on pursuing is Terry Stotts, who has been the head coach of the Trail Blazers, Bucks and Hawks over his extensive career. He most recently served as an assistant under Steve Kerr in Golden State and, according to Stein, is only interested in head coaching gigs going forward. Stotts once served as an assistant under Rick Carlisle in Dallas, and was on the staff that won a championship in 2011. He was also recommended by minority owner Mark Cuban to serve on Kidd's staff, but that ultimately never happened.

Stotts helped turn Portland's franchise around in the nine seasons he was in charge, making the playoffs in eight of those years. The Trail Blazers routinely had one of the best offensive units in the league with Stotts, but their defense was always lackluster. If he were to get the job in Dallas, it would be crucial to have a defensive-minded presence on the coaching staff to ensure the Mavericks don't rely too heavily on their offense.

For whoever the Mavericks hire, regardless of what they've done in their previous stops, the biggest question will be about how they intend to use and develop Flagg. He's their franchise star, and finding a coach who can strike the right balance between furthering his development and playing to his strengths will be central to this coaching search.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/mavericks-coaching-rumors-candidates-cooper-flagg/)._