Jon Scheyer was on the radar of several NBA teams for the head coaching job. Scheyer has been the head coach of the Duke Blue Devils since 2022 and has made a deep NCAA Tournament run every year.
In the last three seasons, he has taken Duke to one Final Four and two Elite Eight appearances. Despite the impressive runs, Scheyer hasn’t been able to get the job done and win the coveted national title.
As per Stephen A. Smith, that’s why he didn’t take the NBA head coaching job. On First Take, SAS called Scheyer a “damn good coach” but said he’d have gone “ballistic” had he accepted an NBA coaching position.
Jon Scheyer had big shoes to fill when he took over the Duke program, as he was succeeding Mike Krzyzewski, the five-time national championship-winning coach.
“When you’re succeeding Mike Krzyzewski, you don’t leave Duke until you finish the job,” he said. “You don’t follow Mike Krzyzewski and don’t win a national title and got Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel on the same squad, and you don’t win.”
Scheyer has worked with some incredible players over the years, including Cameron Boozer, who is slated to be a top 3 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Smith said that Scheyer can’t leave the program without winning a title, especially when he has been blessed with great rosters.
In the offseason, several NBA teams have been looking to make major changes, and the Dallas Mavericks, in particular, were very interested in signing Jon Scheyer. The Mavs reportedly tried their best but couldn’t convince the Blue Devils head coach.
The Mavs Moved On From Jon Scheyer to Dusty May
As per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Masai Ujiri and the Mavericks wanted a college coach to lead the franchise. The Dallas Mavericks parted ways with Jason Kidd after another disappointing season, in which they missed the playoffs.
On First Take, Windhorst said that the Cooper Flagg connection was a major factor in the Mavs’ approach toward Jon Scheyer. But when they couldn’t convince him, the Mavs shifted their focus to Dusty May.
May won the 2026 national title with Michigan and was on the radar of teams like the Mavs and the Magic.
As per ESPN, the deal between May and the Mavs will soon be finalized, and it will mark May’s first stint as an NBA head coach.
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