Report: Joe Boylan won’t join Bucks staff, expected to head to Dallas with Dusty May

The Milwaukee Bucks are facing an unexpected personnel adjustment on the coaching staff. After reporting in late May that Joe Boylan would be part of new head coach Taylor Jenkins’ plans in Milwaukee, Marc Stein of Yahoo Sports reported on July 3 that Boylan is instead headed to Dallas to join new Mavericks head coach Dusty May.

In the earlier reporting cycle, Milwaukee appeared positioned to keep a familiar structure while bringing in a development-minded assistant. The Bucks’ staff changes were framed as a blend of continuity and change, with Darvin Ham expected to remain on the sidelines and Patrick St. Andrews also coming into the mix, all under Jenkins’ first full offseason as head coach.

Stein’s July report adds that Boylan, who has worked across multiple NBA organizations, was initially considered a strong fit to reunite with Jenkins after prior work together. The expectation, according to the earlier cycle of reporting, was that Boylan’s development approach could translate directly to Milwaukee’s young rotation and incoming prospects. That plan, however, is now reportedly off the table for Bucks fans.

The new direction points to Dallas as Boylan’s next stop. Stein reported that Boylan would join May’s staff alongside Willie Green and that Boylan would also coach the Mavericks’ Summer League team, a detail that, according to Yahoo Sports, has since been reflected on the Mavericks’ official page. With that confirmation process underway, Milwaukee’s immediate task is now to locate a replacement for the role it was preparing to add through Boylan.

From Milwaukee’s perspective, the timing matters. The Bucks are building a coaching staff designed not only to guide the current roster, but also to shape how young players are developed year to year. In the development-focused narrative surrounding Boylan’s potential hire, the focus was on his coaching reputation for player improvement and constraints-based approaches that emphasize decision-making and off-schedule learning. Whether the Bucks can replicate that skill set quickly will be tested as the organization turns to offseason work, training camp preparation, and Summer League opportunities for fringe rotation players.

The Bucks do have at least one summer assignment already tied to the staff shakeup. Yahoo Sports reported that Patrick St. Andrews will coach Milwaukee’s California Classic Summer League team, which may help sustain part of the developmental pipeline even as Boylan’s departure creates a gap elsewhere on the bench.

For the Mavericks, the addition fits the broader rebuilding context of a coaching change. Dallas has a new lead voice in May, and bringing in assistants with development backgrounds is a typical way to establish a clear identity early. For Milwaukee, the immediate watch item is who gets hired to take over Boylan’s anticipated responsibilities, and how quickly Jenkins’ staff settles into a coherent plan for player development across the next roster cycle.