DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Mavericks weren’t worried about the timing of hiring a coach as it related to the NBA draft.Since the club lured Dusty May away from national champion Michigan in the nick of time, president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri figures they added another resource for the draft room.“He’ll be involved because he’s a college coach,” Ujiri said in a meeting with reporters about half an hour before the start of the draft Tuesday night, when Dallas had the ninth pick along with the final choice of the first round at No. 30. “He has interaction with his players. We want to know as much information as we can on these players.”The Mavericks officially announced May as their new coach a few hours before the start of the draft. They also have the 48th overall pick in the second round Wednesday night.May is making the jump to the NBA less than three months after leading Michigan to its first NCAA championship since 1989. He had a 64-13 record in two years with the Wolverines, including a 34-3 season that ended with a 69-63 victory over UConn in the national title game.
The Mavericks made their choice to replace Jason Kidd official on the same day they could select the next young player who would be part of building around 2025 No. 1 pick and reigning Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg, who turns 20 in December.
