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Former Tennessee forward Nate Ament named four pre-draft workouts during a SportsCenter interview, and the Dallas Mavericks were not on the list. The 6-foot-10 freshman said he had worked out for the Chicago Bulls, Brooklyn Nets, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Los Angeles Clippers ahead of Tuesday’s NBA Draft, where he is widely projected as a lottery pick after one season at Tennessee. The omission carries weight for Dallas, which holds the ninth pick and has been tied to interest in Ament. A team showing interest does not always work out a prospect, but Ament’s own account of his pre-draft circuit did not include the Mavericks, and his comments came days before the franchise goes on the clock with the No. 9 overall pick.
The reporting that ties Dallas to Ament comes from Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, who listed the Los Angeles Clippers (No. 5), Brooklyn Nets (No. 6), and Mavericks (No. 9) among the teams that have shown interest, with some rival executives viewing the Milwaukee Bucks at No. 10 as Ament’s floor. Fischer also linked the New Orleans Pelicans, who do not own a lottery pick, as a team interested in trading to gain positioning to select Ament. Two of the four teams Ament named, Brooklyn and the Clippers, also appear on Fischer’s list of interested suitors. Dallas does not appear among Ament’s stated workouts, even as it has been tied to interest at No. 9. Interest reported by league sources does not always translate to a completed workout.
Marc Stein: Mahlalela, first reported by @TheSteinLine as a Dallas contender along with Nori, Ivey and Terry Stotts on June 4, has worked the closest with Ujiri to date among known candidates for the post. TBD whether new names emerge.
Marc Stein: Coaches under consideration in Dallas, sources say, include Micah Nori, Houston's Royal Ivey and the experienced Terry Stotts. The emergence of other candidates has not been ruled out as a search for Jason Kidd's successor launched on May 20 progresses. More: tinyurl.com/5xcrpc3j
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Kevin Gray Jr.: University of Houston guard Kingston Flemings was in Dallas today to audition for the Mavericks before next week's NBA Draft, league sources tell @DLLS_Sports. The Mavs hold the No. 9 selection.
He then moved to Boston, but his time with the famous franchise was marred by a finger injury in a game against Dallas at the end of the regular season. In the end, the Celtics were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by Philadelphia, who overcame a 3-1 deficit and advanced to the semifinals. "There were good and bad moments in Boston. I think the finger injury, which took me out for a month, had a big impact. The timing of the injury itself had a big impact - right before the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs. Then I couldn't find the right rhythm, fit in with my teammates, and find my way in my new role."
In the wake of Dallas moving on from Jason Kidd, there have been rumblings of both Duke's Jon Scheyer and Michigan's Dusty May being linked to the vacancy. But ever since Masai Ujiri was hired to run basketball operations last month, the belief around the league is that the most likely outcome for Dallas is elevating one of the NBA's rising assistants. That's what Ujiri did the other two times he hired a coach, both with the Toronto Raptors: In 2018, he replaced Dwane Casey with Nick Nurse. In 2023, he replaced Nurse with Darko Rajakovic.
Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori, regarded as one of the most coveted names on this year’s head coaching market, said he has had no contact with the Dallas Mavericks about their vacancy. Nori addressed the Mavericks’ opening along with other searches around the league during an appearance on SiriusXM’s NBA Radio on Tuesday. “I mean, I haven’t heard anything really from Dallas,” Nori said.
The Stein Line has also been advised that former Trail Blazers, Bucks and Hawks coach Terry Stotts — who previously had a stint in Dallas as an assistant and was once recommended strongly for Kidd's staff by former majority owner Mark Cuban — is also certain to get an interview for the position.
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Yet the more realistic outcome for Dallas remains hiring someone from within the NBA and, to that end, sources say that the Mavericks have either already registered official interest or plan to do so with a number of prominent assistant coaches. Those include Minnesota's Micah Nori, Houston's Royal Ivey, Toronto's Jama Mahlalela, Boston's Tony Dobbins and Miami consultant Noah LaRoche.
In his latest Bleacher Report livestream, NBA insider Jake Fischer argued that he does not fully expect the star point guard to remain in Dallas into the next 2026-27 season. “I don’t necessarily believe that Kyrie Irving will be on the Mavericks roster come opening night," Fischer said. "There will be contending teams that would make trade calls to Dallas.”
After more than a year of analyzing Dallas sites for their planned multi-billion-dollar arena and entertainment district, the Mavericks have chosen Valley View, dealing a major setback to efforts to bring the project downtown. The Mavericks on Monday executed option agreements to purchase approximately 104 acres of the 110-acre former site of Valley View Mall, the franchise told The Dallas Morning News in an emailed statement. It’s a seismic decision that could reshape Dallas’ sports and entertainment landscape for decades, upending the city’s NBA franchise from its 46-year epicenter by moving it and its games 13 miles to the north. From urban to near-suburbia.
After more than a year of analyzing Dallas sites for their planned multi-billion-dollar arena and entertainment district, the Mavericks have chosen Valley View, dealing a major setback to efforts to bring the project downtown. The Mavericks on Monday executed option agreements to purchase approximately 104 acres of the 110-acre former site of Valley View Mall, the franchise told The Dallas Morning News in an emailed statement.