Dallas Mavericks Futures Markets Outlook Following Dusty May Hire
Now under new management with Masai Ujiri running the show, the Dallas Mavericks have inked their next head coach, hiring Dusty May away from Michigan for the cost of a $5 million buyout.
May led Florida Atlantic to the Final Four in 2023 and returned Michigan to glory on a national scale with a 64-13 record over two years and a dominant run to the NCAA Title this past spring.
Dallas is another rebuilding project for May and he has some excellent tools to work with in Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg, veteran guards Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson, and a stable of bigs led by Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford. The Mavericks have the ninth overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft this Tuesday.
How will May’s hiring impact the NBA Futures market? Will the Mavericks odds shorten? Will Cooper Flagg’s odds to win postseason awards shorten? How long might it take for May to turn the Mavs around and potentially earn a playoff spot? We go over the markets below.
Dallas Mavericks Futures Markets Outlook
Only three teams (Sacramento, Memphis, and New Orleans) have longer odds than Dallas to win the Western Conference. The Mavs are 100/1 to win the conference and 200/1 to win the NBA title next year.
Those odds could shorten after a good start, but the best market for Mavericks futures will likely be their proposition to make the Play-in Tournament. Those odds should go live closer to the start of the 2026-27 NBA season.
Dusty May’s Outlook With The Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks were one of several franchises that pulled the plug on competitive basketball midway through last season. Their 26-56 record is not a reflection of the talent on this roster, especially with Irving poised to return to form after taking a full year off to rehab his ACL.
May excelled at Michigan by using big lineups with enough versatility to guard down positionally and still dominated down low. Dallas has similar potential, with Flagg and PJ Washington both very capable of playing small forward and Naji Marshall standing out as a big shooting guard.
Dallas could take another good wing defender and scoring guard in the draft. This is still a franchise in a transitional period and the Mavericks might not be able to crack the play-in field next year. It’s possible Irving and other veterans are traded during the season with an eye towards the following year, when Flagg will be closer to entering his prime as a true top scorer and MVP candidate.
Cooper Flagg Futures Award Markets
Flagg is considered a longshot to win MVP with odds at 100/1 or 150/1 depending on the book.
Those long odds are less of a reflection on his status as a player and more about the narrow field for MVP, which has typically rotated between five or six top candidates over the past few seasons. The same odds apply to season stars such as Jaylen Brown, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Steph Curry, and to players with injury questions such as Joel Embiid, Kawhi Leonard, and Tyrese Haliburton.
After a slow start to his rookie year, Flagg took off down the stretch with averages of 23.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game in February, March, and April. Jason Kidd placed Flagg in an unnatural playmaking role early in the season and May could continue to foster Flagg’s improvement as a wing scorer and elite defender.
Like most rookies, Flagg wasn’t exceptional in clutch time (the final 5 minutes of games within 5 points). He posted a 103.1 offensive rating and the Mavs went 15-24 in clutch games with Flagg on the floor.
Improvement seems likely for Flagg and the Mavs in close games, but his odds to win Clutch Player of the Year should be very long. His odds to win Most Improved Player of the Year may also be very long given the shift in voting away from consensus top picks towards relatively unknown players who made a big leap, such as last year’s winner, Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
Photo Credit: AP/Jeff Roberson
