Offseason questions for the Mavericks after Dusty May’s hiring, and what it could mean for Kyrie Irving’s next chapter

The Dallas Mavericks have begun their offseason with a major foundation shift, hiring Dusty May as their new head coach after moving on from Jason Kidd. In practical terms, the Mavericks did not simply replace a play-caller. They retooled the entire operating system that shapes player development, game plans, and how the franchise evaluates the next two to three seasons. May’s arrival creates a fresh set of offseason questions, even for an organization that already has defined expectations for how it wants to play.

Dallas’ job market access helped set up the moment. The CBS Sports piece frames the timing as a rare “desirable head coaching opening” in recent NBA history, tied to the theoretical ability to pair coaching continuity with marquee young talent. It also describes Masai Ujiri, Dallas’ president of basketball operations, as taking advantage of that leverage to secure a coach in May. That context matters because the Mavericks’ roster decisions are not occurring in isolation, they are being made under a new coaching philosophy and staff structure.

One of the most prominent unresolved storylines is how May’s coaching approach meshes with Kyrie Irving’s place in the Mavericks’ plans. CBS Sports specifically points to “what’s next for Kyrie Irving,” using the offseason as the setting for that discussion. With that framing, Dallas will likely be weighing questions that go beyond leadership and touches, including how Irving’s on-court decision-making is supported by spacing, shot quality, and defensive matchups. May’s system will be measured in part by whether it unlocks the best version of Irving in the postseason environment.

A second offseason question is how May and the Mavericks’ front office build depth around their core without losing identity. The CBS Sports report treats the head coaching hire as part of a larger transition, implying that Dallas wants its short-term roster tweaks to fit the longer-term vision. That usually translates into decisions about role clarity for rotation players, whether the club can replace a specific type of wing or guard skill, and how the Mavericks balance “switch everything” defensive instincts with the realities of guarding elite half-court creators. In a league where matchups swing series outcomes, the staff’s player-development priorities become as important as immediate personnel.

A third question, connected to the coaching hire’s uncommon appeal, concerns the team’s draft-and-development pathway. The CBS Sports piece references the idea that coaching access could theoretically provide “access to almost any candidate,” and it nods to Cooper Flagg as a key young prospect in the background of the coaching search’s appeal. Even without assuming any specific outcome, that matters for Dallas because the franchise’s ability to develop and retain young talent often determines how long it can compete at a high level without constant roster churn.

For Mavericks fans, the next watch item is how May defines the player roles quickly. A coaching hire changes the calendar, but it also changes the evaluation timeline. Dallas will need to communicate what it wants from each position group, how it will generate offense, and what defensive assignments it prioritizes early. For Kyrie Irving, the clearest near-term test is whether the Mavericks can build a framework that maximizes his strengths while keeping the team coherent against playoff-level pressure.

At this stage, much of the uncertainty remains tied to the answers Dallas provides in the coming weeks: roster fit decisions, staff implementation, and how the coaching philosophy shows up in team identity. The only certainty from the CBS Sports report is that May’s hire is central to the Mavericks’ offseason planning, and Irving’s positioning in that plan is one of the first major dominoes to fall.