{"id":1949316,"date":"2026-05-22T11:00:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T08:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1949316"},"modified":"2026-05-22T11:00:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T08:00:29","slug":"sean-sweeney-dawn-staley-5-names-to-watch-in-mavericks-coaching-search","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1949316","title":{"rendered":"Sean Sweeney? Dawn Staley? 5 names to watch in Mavericks coaching search"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Dallas Mavericks are in the market for a head coach.<\/p>\n

Masai Ujiri, who took charge as team president earlier this month, decided Tuesday that it was best for the Mavericks to part ways with Jason Kidd and begin a search for his successor that will leave \u201cno stone unturned.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will really, really look at what\u2019s best for this organization,\u201d Ujiri said Wednesday. \u201cBeing (a) first-time (coach). Being experienced. Being (in) college. Being in Europe. Whatever is best for this organization going forward. It\u2019s going to be very comprehensive.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ujiri last conducted a coaching search in 2023, when he was still with the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors spoke<\/a> to Kenny Atkinson, Charles Lee, Mitch Johnson, Becky Hammon, JJ Redick and others before hiring Darko Rajakovi\u0107, a native of Serbia who was an assistant coach with the Memphis Grizzlies at the time.<\/p>\n

Ujiri sounds ready to cast a wide net again. Here are five names to watch as the Mavericks\u2019 coaching search ramps up.<\/p>\n

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Catch Up On The Story<\/div>\n
\n \"Mavericks<\/p>\n
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\n Mavericks part ways with Jason Kidd after 5 seasons\n <\/div>\n
\n Because of the years and money left on Kidd\u2019s contract, there was skepticism in corners of the NBA the Mavericks would move on.\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Sean Sweeney<\/h2>\n

In NBA circles, it\u2019s a matter of when \u2014 not if \u2014 Sweeney will land a head coaching job.<\/p>\n

The 41-year-old Saint Paul, Minn., native is considered one of the league\u2019s best assistants. Sweeney had stops in Brooklyn, Milwaukee, Detroit and Dallas before arriving in San Antonio last summer. His first season as the Spurs\u2019 associate head coach has gone well. Sweeney was in charge of the Spurs\u2019 third-ranked defense this year. With Victor Wembanyama as a focal point, the Spurs made a 28-win improvement from last season and are battling the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals.<\/p>\n

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The four years Sweeney spent on Kidd\u2019s staff in Dallas contained plenty of success. The Mavericks made deep playoff runs in 2022 and 2024, making the NBA Finals in the latter year. Sweeney helped prove two years ago that a team could field an elite defense around Luka Don\u010di\u0107. The Mavericks had the NBA\u2019s No. 1 defense during the final 20 games of the 2023-24 regular season, a stretch in which they went 16-4.<\/p>\n

Once the Spurs\u2019 season concludes, Sweeney is expected to generate considerable interest in the coaching market. The Chicago Bulls and Orlando Magic are two other teams that could try to bring him in for an interview.<\/p>\n

Micah Nori<\/h2>\n

Nori is another experienced assistant trying to break through and become a head coach for the first time. Nori has spent the last five seasons on Chris Finch\u2019s staff with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have won at least one round in the playoffs in each of the last three years.<\/p>\n

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A college baseball player at Indiana, Nori got his NBA start in Toronto. He overlapped there with Ujiri, who was then a scout and assistant general manager. Nori went on to work for Michael Malone in Sacramento and Denver. Nori coached Nuggets center Nikola Joki\u0107 during the 2015 NBA Summer League and still maintains a close relationship with the three-time MVP.<\/p>\n

Over the past two years, Nori interviewed for the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks head coaching jobs. The Lakers hired Redick, while the Knicks went with Mike Brown.<\/p>\n

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\n Jon Scheyer coached Dallas Mavericks centerpiece Cooper Flagg during Flagg\u2019s one season at Duke. (Rich Barnes \/ Imagn Images)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Jon Scheyer<\/h2>\n

Three of the Mavericks\u2019 best players \u2014 Cooper Flagg, Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II \u2014 are Duke alums. What are the chances that Dallas could persuade Duke\u2019s coach to come on board?<\/p>\n

Scheyer recruited Flagg to play his lone college season in Durham, N.C. That season was a success. Flagg won the men\u2019s Naismith Player of the Year award and helped lead Duke to a 35-4 record and a Final Four appearance before the Mavericks chose him as the No. 1 pick in last year\u2019s NBA Draft.<\/p>\n

Scheyer has done a stellar job stepping in for legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski. Scheyer has a 124-25 record in four seasons as Duke\u2019s head coach.<\/p>\n

There is some skepticism in the basketball world that Scheyer would leave Duke so soon in his head coaching tenure. But the chance to coach Flagg at the NBA level has to be appealing.<\/p>\n

Tiago Splitter<\/h2>\n

Splitter took over as the Portland Trail Blazers\u2019 interim coach in October under strange circumstances. Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups was arrested and charged in October as part of a federal gambling investigation. Billups has pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n

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What You Should Read Next<\/div>\n
\n \"Who<\/p>\n
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\n Who is Tiago Splitter? Meet the Portland Trail Blazers\u2019 interim head coach\n <\/div>\n
\n The former NBA champion with the Spurs takes over for Chauncey Billups, who was indicted after a gambling investigation.\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

The Blazers finished the season with a winning record (42-40) for the first time in five years before bowing out in the first round of the playoffs against the Spurs.<\/p>\n

Splitter has a connection to one prominent member of the Mavericks\u2019 front office. Recently hired general manager Mike Schmitz worked with Splitter in Portland, where Schmitz was an assistant general manager for four years.<\/p>\n

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Before joining Billups\u2019 staff, Splitter was the head coach of the French league team Paris Basketball for one season. The Brazilian played in the NBA for seven seasons, five of which with the Spurs, and won an NBA title in 2014.<\/p>\n

Dawn Staley<\/h2>\n

Staley, the WNBA great and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, has won three national championships in her 18-year run as South Carolina women\u2019s basketball coach. Last summer, the Knicks interviewed her for their head coaching job, and Staley said she would have accepted the post if offered.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would have had to do it,\u201d Staley said on the \u201cPost Moves\u201d podcast<\/a> in April. \u201cNot just for me. For women. To break (that door) open. I would have had to. It\u2019s the New York Knicks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staley later said<\/a> that going through that process made her believe that \u201cno NBA team is ready for a female coach right now.\u201d It\u2019s unclear if Staley would still consider a move to the NBA after that experience.<\/p>\n

Ujiri interviewed Hammon \u2014 the head coach of the WNBA\u2019s Las Vegas Aces \u2014 for the Raptors job three years ago. One NBA executive told The Athletic<\/em> that it wouldn\u2019t be shocking if the Mavericks wanted to interview Staley.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Dallas Mavericks are in the market for a head coach. Masai Ujiri, who took charge as team president earlier this month, decided Tuesday that it was best for the Mavericks to part ways with Jason Kidd and begin a search for his successor that will leave \u201cno stone unturned.\u201d \u201cWe will really, really look […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1949316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1949316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1949316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1949316\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1949316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1949316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1949316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}