- The Dallas Mavericks hired former Michigan Wolverines head coach Dusty May on Monday, potentially altering their draft plans.
- Dallas holds the No. 9 overall pick, where many Michigan players are possible selections.
- NBA Draft betting odds favor Dallas taking Arizona’s Brayden Burries (+200), but Aday Mara (+450), Yaxel Lendeborg (+500), and Morez Johnson Jr. (+650) are in the mix.
DALLAS – Michigan players make up three of the top five spots for betting on the ninth-overall pick in the NBA Draft, which is currently owned by the Dallas Mavericks. How much influence will newly-hired head coach Dusty May have on the Mavericks’ draft plans and will he push for a reunion with one of his former players?
Number 9 Pick Odds
- Brayden Burries (ARIZ) +200
- Kingston Flemings (HOU) +400
- Aday Mara (MICH) +450
- Yaxel Lendeborg (MICH) +500
- Morez Johnson Jr (MICH) +650
- Nate Ament (TENN) +800
- Keaton Wagler (ILL) +850
- Mikel Brown Jr. (LOU) +1000
- Karim López (New Zealand Breakers) +1200
- Labaron Philon (ALA) +1200
Odds for the No. 9 pick at NBA betting sites show its possible, but more likely for the Mavericks to select Brayden Burries (+200) from Arizona or Kingston Flemings (+400) from Houston. After those two, three-straight Michigan players round out the top five to go ninth overall.
Spanish 7-footer Aday Mara is the most likely Michigan player to go to the Mavericks, but he’s the favorite (+250) to go eighth overall to the Atlanta Hawks. If Mara makes it past the eighth pick, he has good legal sports betting value at +450 to play for Dusty May in Dallas.
Yaxel Lendeborg Wants Reunion With May In Dallas
Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg made it clear that he wants to play with May in the NBA. During NBA Draft media, Lendeborg responded to a question about reuniting with May by saying “I’m going to tell him he better pick me up, if he doesn’t im going to block him…it would be amazing to stick with him.”
Yaxel Lendeborg said he fell down to his knees when he saw the Dusty May news.
I asked him about his chances of joining his college coach in the pros:
“I’m going to tell him he better pick me up, if he doesn’t I’m going to block him.. It would be amazing to stick with him.” https://t.co/LK6twueM61 pic.twitter.com/aiXPpiypOL— Chancellor Johnson (@ChancellorTV) June 22, 2026
It makes a lot of sense for 23-year-old Lendeborg to want to go ninth-overall, but May’s authority in the draft process is likely to be minimal. Dallas just overhauled their front office with the hiring of Masai Ujiri as team president and Mike Schmitz as general manager, with the former likely to make the Mavericks’ draft decision. Still, there are +500 odds for Lendeborg to be selected ninth overall if the stars align.
