One report suggests the Mavs could at least interview the longtime South Carolina women's basketball coach, potentially leading to a landmark moment in professional sports.
A woman has not yet been the head coach of an NBA team, but with the Dallas Mavericks position freshly available, one report suggests the team could take the latest step into that possibility becoming a reality.
The Mavericks cut ties with five-year coach Jason Kidd this week as new front office leaders Masai Ujiri and Mike Schmitz remodel the franchise around Rookie of the Year winner Cooper Flagg.
Names such as Spurs associate coach Sean Sweeney, Ujiri's previous coach Nick Nurse and even Flagg's former college coach Jon Scheyer are thought to be candidates in this "comprehensive search".
Another name, as reported by The Athletic's Christian Clark, could be one of women's college basketball's biggest names: Dawn Staley.
The 18-year coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks is a Naismith Hall of Famer for her excellent WNBA career. But she's also become a coaching icon with three national championships on her college resume.
Another opportunity in the NBA could be calling her name, as just last season, she earned an interview with the New York Knicks.
Ultimately, the Knicks chose Mike Brown for the job. That's proven to be the right choice given how New York has made it to this year's Eastern Conference Finals and defended home court harmlessly.
Staley, however, said she wouldn't have been able to turn down the position if it was offered.
"I would have had to do it," she said on the "Post Moves" podcast earlier this year. "Not just for me. For women. To break [that door] open. I would have had to. It’s the New York Knicks."
Now, do the Mavericks hold the same level of prestige as the Knicks? That's not quite the case, especially considering the PR disaster the Mavs are still recovering from.
Cooper Flagg represents an enticing draw to any coach looking to help mold a player into a superstar for the next decade. However, the organization still has some ways to go in matching the universal acclaim of one of the sport's biggest brands housed in the most prominent city in the world.
Clark reports that a league executive said it "wouldn't be shocking" if the Mavs extended a call to Staley.
That might point to how close the NBA is to eventually seeing a woman become a head coach, but Staley may still think that now is not the time.
Whether in New York or Dallas, Staley added that she believes "no NBA team is ready for a female coach right now." Meaning this offseason, there's more of a likelihood that she returns to the college game, anyway.
If the Mavs were to give her a look, her resume is among the strongest in the women's game, outside of UConn's Geno Auriemma. In pure production and longevity, it rivals the careers of many of the male candidates Dallas is likely to target, regardless of level.
Staley's Gamecocks have reached six straight Final Fours, tied for the second-longest streak in NCAA tournament history. With a 547-118 record over her 18 seasons in Columbia, there's not much left to prove in the college game.
Time will tell if she receives another NBA look from one of the handful of teams searching for their next head coach.
