No one’s pressing the panic button following Cooper Flagg’s ho-hum Las Vegas Summer League debut this week, especially former Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Expectations for the No. 1 overall pick aren’t to be an immediate superstar, but that’s something that should come with time given Flagg’s skill set, raw ability and limitless potential.
At least that’s the plan, according to Cuban.
“You kind of have to think of the Kobe [Bryant] arc … it took him some time to get it right,” Cuban said after the Mavericks’ win over the Los Angeles Lakers. “I don’t want to curse him by comparing him to Kobe because they’re not the same. But Kobe didn’t come in right away as a polished player. It took him two years to get it.”
Flagg finished with 10 points, six rebounds and three assists and went scoreless in the second half. Flagg missed 15 of the 21 shots he took from the floor, his first bucket coming on a breakaway slam.
“Not up to my standard, but I’m going to improve, I’m going to be alright,” Flagg said.
Unlike Bryant, Flagg will likely start for the Mavericks this season as a rookie given the franchise’s investment. Bryant played just 15.5 minutes per game as a first-year player in 1996 before enjoying a more sizable role the following campaign leading to his first All-Star appearance.
Bryant didn’t earn a starring role, however, as the Lakers’ starting two-guard until 1998-99 when he averaged 19.9 points per game. He went on to have an illustrious career as one of the NBA’s best players of all time over 20 seasons.
Bryant had to find his shot and figure out his strengths at the professional level after first showcasing his expertise at Lower Merion High in Pennsylvania. Flagg has the luxury of one college season at Duke under his belt while Bryant’s first experience under elite leadership didn’t come until Del Harris as a rookie in Los Angeles.
To Cuban’s point, there’s a lot to learn for Flagg, from picking and choosing when to attack, to finding his rhythm and fit within a new lineup. That’s not going to come until he gets to play alongside Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis and others this season with the Mavericks, a team on the brink after just missing the postseason following a loss to Memphis in the play-in round of the Western Conference.;
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd wants Flagg utilized at the point guard spot as often as possible this summer to expand his game as a distributor. He ran the floor often with the Blue Devils, and that’s the initial plan for him in the NBA with his new team.
“The coaches have a lot of confidence in me,” Flagg said after his debut. “They were telling me they want me to experiment, try some new things. I was trying to be aggressive. That’s new for me, too. I would say that might be one of the worst games of my life.”
