Cooper Flagg is entering an unconventional situation as the No. 1 pick for the Dallas Mavericks. This is a team built to win now with veterans like Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson. It’s certainly different from what most top picks walk into at more traditional rebuilding situations.
How Flagg fits into the roster was among the many questions during his Friday press conference with coach Jason Kidd. Beyond the experience already on the Mavericks, there’s the issue of having a few too many wing players. Unless Dallas plans on trading someone like a PJ Washington, or even less likely Davis, Dallas will have some lineup questions in need of addressing before the season starts.
That’s not even including the fact that the Mavs will be without their starting point guard in Kyrie Irving for at least half the season as he rehabs from a torn ACL, though Kidd is already envisioning placing the ball in Flagg’s hands to run the show.
“I don’t look at the position, you know, I want to put him in the at the point guard,” Kidd said. “I want to make him uncomfortable and see how he reacts. Being able to run the show, being able to play the 2, play the 3. He’s comfortable playing [the 3], but we want to push, and I think he’s going to respond in a positive way. It’s all right to fail. It’s all right to turn the ball over. We’ve talked about that.”
The Mavericks have already made it a priority to go out and get a point guard to fill the hole left by Irving, so Flagg is not a replacement. However, those comments to give us insight into how Dallas plans to run its offense until Irving returns. Regardless of whom the Mavericks sign this summer at point guard, it seems they’ll be asked to facilitate the flow through Flagg or Davis rather than initiate the offense themselves.
Kidd compared using Flagg as a point-forward to when he used to coach Giannis Antetokounmpo. While with the Bucks, Kidd was the first person to put the ball in the two-time MVP’s hands to run the show. It didn’t work immediately, but over time it proved to be the key that unlocked Antetokounmpo’s game to become a multiple MVP winner, NBA champion and future first-ballot Hall of Famer.
“Just understanding the guys that I’ve been around that have been young, from Giannis, giving him the ball, and he failed,” Kidd said. “But he wanted to come back and have the ball, so I’m excited about giving [Flagg] the ball against the Lakers and see what happens. Let’s get it started right off the bat.”
It may be uncomfortable at first, but Flagg sounded excited about the prospect of playing a free-flowing style of basketball with the Mavericks.
“I think with the team, looking at the roster, we can play a really good brand of positionless basketball with a lot of guys that can do a lot of different things,” Flagg said. “So I think that would be one of the biggest strengths, and I think just trying to play to that, and just doing whatever I can to help the team win.”
We’ll get to see Flagg play that point-forward position during Las Vegas Summer League, where he’s expected to play in Dallas’ first two games, per Marc Stein, against the Lakers and Spurs. NBA Summer League action starts July 10, with Flagg facing Bronny James and the Lakers at 8 p.m. ET.
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