New Mavs Rumors on Pursuit of Duke's Jon Scheyer to Replace Jason Kidd as HC for Cooper Flagg

The Dallas Mavericks are one of only two NBA teams that still have a head coaching vacancy, and their interest in a highly touted college coach is reportedly the reason why.

According to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, the Mavs want to give Duke head men's basketball coach Jon Scheyer "every conceivable opportunity" to weigh the possibility of leaving Duke for an NBA job in Dallas.

Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line previously reported that the Mavericks had interest in both Scheyer and University of Michigan head coach Dusty May, but Stein noted Friday that there has been "persistent pessimism" in league circles regarding the likelihood of Dallas convincing one of them to make the leap.

Of course, Scheyer has a significant link to the Mavs in the form of rising superstar and reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg.

Flagg's lone collegiate season was spent at Duke playing under Scheyer, and Scheyer's leadership helped Flagg earn National College Player of the Year honors.

After going first overall to the Mavs in the 2025 NBA draft, Flagg was one of the team's lone bright spots last season, averaging 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 three-pointer made per contest en route to winning ROY honors.

Dallas was still among the worst teams in the NBA with a 26-56 record, though, leading to the departure of head coach Jason Kidd last month.

While Scheyer would be an ideal replacement for many reasons, including his relationship with Flagg and his 124-25 record in four seasons at Duke, Stein noted that he has heard Scheyer's preference is to remain at Duke after being chosen as the successor to legendary Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski.

If Dallas' attempts to hire Scheyer or May indeed end up going by the wayside, Stein reported that there are still other candidates of interest for the Mavs, including Houston Rockets assistant Royal Ivey, Toronto Raptors assistant Jama Mahlalela, Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori and former Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts.