Customary in asset protection, the Dallas Mavericks shut down No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg for the remainder of the NBA’s summer league schedule as he continues to focus on development ahead of his rookie season. Flagg was terrific in his second summer start, scoring 31 points with a 47% shooting rate from the floor during the Mavericks’ loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Flagg’s scoring outburst was the most by a No. 1 pick in the summer league play since John Wall in 2010.
Matt MacKenzie, Flagg’s longtime player development coach, spoke with CBS Sports Tuesday about Flagg’s next steps.
“Cooper will head back to Dallas to get settled in and workout at the Mavs practice facility before heading to Maine in August for a couple weeks,” MacKenzie said. “He’s headlining a basketball camp for a couple days, and we’ll continue his training up there as he prepares looks ahead to the rookie transition program and the start of training camp.”
The Mavericks used Flagg as a point guard, of sorts, during the two summer league appearances and challenged the former Duke star’s conditioning.
“I think I’ve been solid. I’m exhausted,” Flagg said, according to Kelly Iko and Jared Weiss. “I’m not used to bringing the ball up like that. Had somebody on my hip every time I brought the ball up the court 94 feet. I think I did a solid job of bringing it up against pressure and setting up different actions.”
This was all part of the plan according to Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, who said earlier this summer the franchise wanted to make Flagg “uncomfortable” early on. Kyrie Irving will be on the shelf much of the regular season following a knee injury.
“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.”
At 6-foot-9, Flagg will be used to stretch the floor as a rookie, make plays on the perimeter and aid in transition. Milwaukee utilizes two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo as its point forward of sorts, a role Kidd believes Flagg could play.
