Draymond Green sends a warning to Ben Simmons with Cooper Flagg
It was a difficult start to the year for the Dallas Maverickswho are currently 2-6 after Wednesday night’s home loss to the lowly New Orleans Pelicans. Number one overall draft pick Cooper Flagg had a solid game in this one, he scored 20 points, but it was still an ugly night for the Mavericks offense as a whole, as the team didn’t reach the century mark on the night.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd has experimented with playing Flagg at point guard this season, and more recently at power forward for the Golden State Warriors Draymond Green explained why he thinks that’s not a great idea.
“I think the only thing I would say about starting Cooper Flagg at point guard is you just have to be careful. It’s not his right position. Ask yourself this question. If Ben Simmons is allowed to be a ball-handling forward the way he handled the ball, does his career turn out differently than it would have been made at point guard?” Gree wondered, according to The Draymond Green Show.
Indeed, Ben Simmons has become somewhat of a cautionary tale of what happens when a hyper-talented prospect doesn’t use those talents properly.
“…well what I would just say about Cooper Flagg is you have to be careful playing him at point guard. I understand the thinking behind it, but the last thing you want is for him to lose confidence trying to play point guard. Because once you lose confidence in this league, it’s almost impossible to get it back,” Green concluded.
Interesting place for Cooper Flagg
The problem for the Dallas Mavericks right now (or one of them) is that they don’t have a healthy point guard on the roster, with Kyrie Irving injured and D’Angelo Russell’s skill set closer to that of two guards.
However, Flagg would certainly have an easier time adjusting to the NBA level if he had a real general on the floor, and as Green mentioned, that hasn’t been the case so far.
The Mavericks next take the court on Friday night against the Memphis Grizzlies.
2025-11-06 19:05:00
