Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green says Cooper Flagg holds an unlikely luxury as the NBA Draft’s No. 1 overall pick, one most rookies rarely experience. Green mentioned Flagg joining well-established superstars Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis, stressing the point there’s no expectation as a rookie to be a franchise savior of sorts in Dallas.
“I don’t think he could have asked for anything better as the number one pick,” Green said on Friday’s Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis. “You ain’t gotta go average 25 points on a bad team or 20 points on a bad team.”
At least initially, Flagg likely moves to the frontcourt as the Mavericks’ small forward in the starting lineup with Davis at the four-spot and Dereck Lively at center. That would provide Dallas and Flagg with position flexibility as a scoring threat alongside two-guard Klay Thompson, who will be asked to provide scoring punch while Irving recovers from injury early.
Flagg expressed a yearning to have the ball in his hands during his introductory presser, often starring at Duke as a point-forward of sorts coming down the floor. He’s comfortable off the dribble at 6-foot-8 and many of the Blue Devils’ most successful plays last season came in pick-and-roll situations — which plays into the Mavericks’ strengths with Davis as a proven, all-star threat.
Not to mention with Thompson on the wing as a catch-and-shoot, one-dribble veteran, Flagg became accustomed to the drive and kick persona with fellow top 5 pick Kon Knueppel sharing a similar role at Duke.
“A lot of times, when you’re the number one pick, you go to a s—– organization,” Green said. “This time, it’s going to a great organization.”
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said he wants to make Flagg “uncomfortable” in his first season as a distributor of sorts. Ironically, Green does the same for the Warriors as a versatile option when Stephen Curry isn’t dominating the ball, though the pair have differing skill sets.
“Being able to run the show, being able to play the 2, play the 3,” Kidd said Friday of his plan for Flagg. “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.”
Last season, Flagg led the Blue Devils in scoring (19.2 points per game), rebounding (7.5), assists (4.2), steals (1.4) and blocks (1.4) as college basketball’s national player of the year. And like his one-year stint at the storied ACC program after all five of Duke’s starters were drafted, Flagg immediately goes to another team with help all around him — as Green attests.
“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 this week. “So I think that would be one of the biggest strengths. Just trying to play to that and just doing whatever I can to help the team win.”
