It's been a rough start to the year for the Dallas Mavericks, who currently sit at 2-6 after Wednesday evening's home loss to the lowly New Orleans Pelicans. Number one overall draft pick Cooper Flagg had a solid game in this one, scoring 20 points, but it still was an ugly night for the Mavericks' offense overall, as the team didn't even get to the century mark on the evening.
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd has been experimenting with playing Flagg at point guard at times this season, and recently, Golden State Warriors power forward Draymond Green explained why he thinks that isn't a great idea.
“I think the one thing I would say about starting Cooper Flagg at point guard is you just got to be careful. It’s not his real position. You ask yourself this question. If Ben Simmons was allowed to be a power forward that can handle the ball the way he handled the ball, does his career turn out differently than making him a point guard?” wondered Gree, per The Draymond Green Show.
Indeed, Ben Simmons has become somewhat of a cautionary tale about what happens when a hyper-talented prospect doesn't have those talents utilized correctly.
“…so what I would just say about Cooper Flagg is you got to be careful playing him at point guard. I understand the thinking behind it but the last thing you want is him to lose his confidence trying to play point guard. Because once you lose your confidence in this league, it’s nearly impossible to get it back,” Green concluded.
An interesting spot for Cooper Flagg
The problem for the Dallas Mavericks right now (or one of them) is that they don't have a healthy true point guard on the roster, as Kyrie Irving is injured and D'Angelo Russell's skillset is closer to that of a two guard.
However, Flagg would certainly have an easier time adjusting to the NBA level if he were to have plays set up for him by a true floor general, and as Green mentioned, that hasn't been the case so far.
The Mavericks will next take the court on Friday evening vs the Memphis Grizzlies.
