How does Cooper Flagg fit with the Dallas Mavericks⁉️+ Giannis’ future with the Bucks | SportsCenter
[Music] being just a kid from Maine people would just shoot me down that told me I would never be able to make it to the next level [Music] [Applause] Are you serious
this is something I’ve been dreaming about since I was a little kid That dream just stuck in my head I just got to keep working Smith and Scale Seal here with you and fine line between a reset and a rebuild and the Mavs are hoping Cooper Flag has him on the right side of that dichotomy The young Buck was introduced as the number one overall pick in the Dallas market and recognize the blessing of not only his talents earning him the top pick off the board status but also the fact that he isn’t expected to be some savior Granted there’s a little more to his arrival given who was jettisoned prior to Cooper getting drafted but we ain’t got to talk about all that as Anscape senior writer David Dennis Jr joins us now Uh DD Dallas got their guy uh and you see Cooper Fleck how does he fit into this roster construction and rotation going forward yeah this is one of the great situations for a rookie especially a potentially great player to enter into the league especially how seamless this is going to be on the defensive end for Cooper Flag That is one of his great strengths about a block and a half and a steal and a half at Duke Entering into a team that has PJ Washington Anthony Davis Derek Lively and Marshall those guys are going to be defensively lock step all pretty much immediately and hard for teams to score on Now on the other side of the ball what I’m interested in is a little bit of this conversation about uh Cooper Flag handling the ball some running point guard and running that offense I want to see what that looks like because this team can really be competitive I don’t think that they are going to be a contender in the West just yet until Kyrie Irving is healthy maybe the year after that But they’re going to build a foundation for a team that is going to be tough to deal with in the future
But to go back to where you started that defensive versatility is what made him so appealing in this 2025 draft class wound up setting him apart as the number one overall pick Now David just because the off season has begun it just means that transaction season is upon us uh when you look at it starting on Monday what is one thing you’d like to see happen on that front i want to see by the end of this off seasonason I want to see Giannis Anakmpo in a competitive situation which means pretty much that Milwaukee has to decide what they’re going to do with this dude going forward And that answer cannot be sitting pat They have to either do what the best they can to build a competitive team around him with the limited resources they have and be creative in that trade market in that uh free agent market or they have to send him somewhere where he could really be vying for a championship Now we don’t know what Giannis really wants to do quite yet He has a eye on the buck situation but it would be a disservice to him as at worst the third best player in the league putting up 32 and six to not be competitive for a championship pretty much every year for the rest of his career whether that’s Milwaukee or somewhere else Something has to be done and decided in the next few weeks
Yeah he’s under contract until the 202627 season with a 62.8 million player option for 2728 Appreciate you Double D Now as everyone else awaits word on what free agency has in store Nas Reed gets to kick back and wait a little bit But according to Shams the Minnesota Center intends to sign a 5-year $125 million deal to remain with the Timberwolves and it’ll have a player option in 2029 The former six man of the year had quite a market but opted to continue being a part of that core group and many
David Dennis Jr. joins SportsCenter to discuss how rookie Cooper Flagg fits with the Mavericks and what the Bucks should do with Giannis Antetokounmpo.
✔️ Subscribe to ESPN+ http://espnplus.com/youtube
✔️ Get the ESPN App: http://www.espn.com/espn/apps/espn
✔️ Subscribe to ESPN on YouTube: http://es.pn/SUBSCRIBEtoYOUTUBE
✔️ Subscribe to NBA on ESPN on YouTube: http://bit.ly/SUBSCRIBEtoNBAonESPN
✔️ Watch ESPN on YouTube TV: http://es.pn/YouTubeTV
#ESPN
13 Comments
yoooo
They’ve been talking about how Coopers gonna fit w the Mavs for a month straight.
He’s not going to be as dominant as Luka
Not even close
Media pushing this hard after the rigged lottery 😳
Still need to fire Nico lol
The fanbase's perception of Luka will likely shift upon observing his performance. The team exchanged a player characterized by limited athleticism and conditioning, yet possessing strong shooting skills, for a well-rounded, agile, athletic scorer with leadership qualities and defensive capabilities.
He's the best college basketball prospect we've ever seen.
Cooper Flagg on the Mavericks
Caitlin Clark on the Fever
Josh Allen on the Bills
Paul Skenes on the Pirates
Arch Manning at Texas
What a time to be alive!
A lot of people would disagree. Lebron, Wemby, and a a couple others. Time will tell.
NBA is Rigged.
He would have fit in nicely with the jazz, hornets or wizards like he was supposed to
I see a lot of people lazily comparing Cooper to past white players who were good not great like Tom Chambers, Christian Laettner, Gordon Hayward, Andrei Kirilenko, Detlef Schrempf , Keith Van Horn etc
And I think if you think that’s Coopers ceiling you’re very wrong , most of those guys didn’t reach Coopers level until they were like in their mid 20s , Cooper is way more developed than they were at 18 years old , more athletic and talented .
Now is Cooper as freakish of an athlete or specimen as past number picks like LeBron , Wemby , Zion or Anthony Edwards? Obviously not but who is ? You don’t need to be that level of freak to make it to the highest level Jokic, Magic, Bird , Steph im not saying Cooper has their skill level but I’m saying they became generational with athletic deficiencies and Cooper is way more athletic.
Also just compare him to Tatum and Banchero the other 2 Duke players. Not only was Cooper a better defender than them as a freshman but all of his offensive numbers were better too AND he did it coming to college a year early instead of his senior year of high-school . Does Cooper have the same 1 on 1 “bag” no but overall he’s better fundamentally and just as if not more athletic than them .
Lastly people doubting don’t understand the importance of intangibles , players who underwhelmed as highly touted prospects like Wiggins, Mayo, Beasley, Fultz , Ben Simmons etc I don’t believe that they didn’t become superstars because a lack of talent I think they were missing key intangibles
And if you listen to Cooper talk about the game and hear people talk about who he is as a player it’s clear he’s always stood out compared to the rest in intangibles. Work ethic, willing to listen and learn , feel for the game , basketball IQ, dedication without off court distractions, good support system , competitive nature, motor to play hard all game etc
These are the things that separate superstars.
Not Birds skill it was his IQ , confidence and playing harder than everyone else
Not Lebrons body and athleticism, his dedication to his body , basketball IQ and ability to process information
Not Kobe’s talent , his mamba mentality of having no fear and working tirelessly to get better every day
There’s zero good reasons to think Cooper won’t be a perennial allstar and zero good reasons to think he can’t be a generational player.
Fire Nico
l was saying JKidd would want to make a PG out of him for months and people thought l was crazy nationally online and then JKidd came out and confirmed. Hilarious. Kidd is building a monster of a defensive team tho one that can also score in waves. Keeping the entire squad intact and working together when so many teams have crazy turn-over is also huge. Having Flagg on the rookie salary is like handing the Mav.s the chip. They wouldve beaten OKC this season if healthy and ran thru the Pacers. Now add Flagg.