Paul Pierce on Cooper Flagg’s big ceiling, Garnett comparison & Ace Bailey to the Jazz | SPEAK

Paul Pierce on Cooper Flagg’s big ceiling, Garnett comparison & Ace Bailey to the Jazz | SPEAK

so Paul what are your expectations for Cooper in Dallas
you know what i have very high expectations for Cooper Flag because think about this ever since I’ve watched him since he was in AA basketball probably since the 10th grade he’s lived up to expectations everywhere he’s gone every level he high school top player Duke college top player and his game it translates you know what I’m saying it’s not one certain skill set that I can say he’s like better than than the other because I think he does everything pretty much well he shoots the ball he’s great at defense he can slash he can come off the pick and roll he can make plays uh he’s a lob threat he’s athletic
man sky’s is the limit for this kid so whatever role he plays in the Dallas he will thrive in it so my ex in saying all of that my expectations for him I think he’s a lock for rookie of the year i think he’s going to help Dallas push for a playoff spot and his ceiling as a rookie he can actually be an all-star his rookie year that’s how good
this kid is because if he’s pushing the Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs him and Anthony Davis are going to be a big part of that and I think with his skill set he’ll become a fan favorite he’ll become Dallas’s very own somebody that can cuddle since the loss of Luca and that can push him into the bright lights so I’ve loved what he’s done up until this point now he gets to prove it on the big stage and so I have high hopes and expectations for Cooper Flag the right he’ll hit the ground running because it’s the right fit for him right paul mentioned playoff spot all-star at the same time so that means that they probably gonna get into the playoffs if he becomes an all-star you got Anthony Davis who most likely be an all-star and then once they get Kyrie back who will be a second half allstar
now you got three allstar players on the team that’s playoffs right there that should be the playoffs immediately you know what he’s a capable of doing he’s been doing it like Paul said his entire career no matter what level he’s been the guy at every single level now because it’s the NBA is a little bit of a learning curve but as I said yesterday just watching him in the summer play against Team USA last summer and do what he did against them those are all NBA Allstar future Hall of Fame type players and for him to be able to get buckets and do the things he did against them imagine the assault that he could potentially have on the rest of the league as a rookie and he’s going to learn he got a great coach in Jason Kidd right there he’s got great mentors in terms of players that’ll be there they’ll eventually sign somebody at the point guard position whether it’s D’Angelo Russell or or or Chris Paul somebody will be there as a veteran that he could still learn under until Kyrie comes back so for him you know rookie of the year the ceiling’s way up there though i mean it just it’ll be interesting to see him on the floor i’m excited to see him and I’m never excited about the Dallas Mavericks
i I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t win rookie of the year for sure and I I do believe that because he has the capability unlike a lot of number one picks and top uh top rookies he has the ability to play off the ball and so I think that he’ll fit well and he’ll be able to uh to come in right away and and have an impact i don’t know that the numbers are going to be big in any one category i could see him filling a box score and having numbers in a lot of different categories but not necessarily 20 and 12 right um but uh I I do
what are good numbers for a rookie
it just I mean Chad Homegrren was 16 and eight and for the better part of the year before We Wy came on at the end people were talking about Ched as being a a a rookie of the year candidate so if he was averaging I mean I don’t know the diff the difficulty is is that you do have AD there depending on who the point guard is d’angelo Russell is going to take up shots and points if if he’s there chris Paul less so um I’m I’m not really worried about that i think honestly defense is probably going to be his calling card how hard he plays and at the defensive end I think he’s going to be surprisingly good for a rookie because that’s usually where the learning the learning curve is uh I so I don’t I don’t want to put necessarily numbers on it or some big expectation because I think a lot of it has to do with how good the Dallas Mavericks are collectively
he has a great motor he has a great motor which I A great motor
great motor
first one in last one out
is that a shot at you
no no no no joy
he’s just a smart player he knows how to play
oh oh oh oh okay got it got it got it um now allstar the thing is but if if they have an all-star AD gets first cut right
yeah oh he’ll get Yeah for sure
and are the Dallas Mavericks going to be so good that they’ll warrant having two Allstars that would be that would be the question and they don’t generally don’t give allstar to rookies
so I think that that’s a little I think that’s setting the bar a little high for him
but other than that rookie of the year and being being a contributor and possibly making them not only a playoff team but I think depending on when Kyrie comes back a a darkhorse contender uh I I think that’s all a possibility i love his attitude i love his like I’m just
motor his attitude no I’m just saying I like what you
motor his attitude i like where Rick is saying go ahead go ahead high energy go ahead Rick
he’s been this way his entire career go ahead Rick
you said it
yeah I did
joy joy help me out here
he said he wants to be a sponge i like that
sponge very smart
no I do i do
so you guys are so bad
great basketball IQ
he’s a great player he’s a great player i do hesitate to get too crazy with the expectations of such a young player in the NBA when we forget that they are so so so young going into the NBA
19
but he just he just
he’s
he’s 18 but he’s one
had even turned 19 yet
but he’s one of them 18 19 year old kids that seem to be different though
he No no for sure i just I I think he’s going to be a tremendous player he’s very mature he’s very mature played a lot of basketball
yeah he’s played a lot of basketball
it took me a second but I’m there with you now
very coachable he went to Duke
right so Paul you were how old when you came into
i was 20
so
yeah i I always say this with with NBA players particularly right now because they are so young coming into the league that the development in in your body as an 18year-old man to a 20 21 year old man is dramatic
and we talk about the you know guys with the beards and the NFL and the and the trucks and the and the you know the car seats in the back but the NBA has that too there’s just a difference in your in your body in the physicality of playing at an NBA level and obviously you’re adding
a tremendous amount of a longer season as well
yeah but even more so I think with basketball cuz you can come in at 181 19 and you really can’t you don’t
because I was ready to come out of the NBA i could have got drafted after my freshman year i was 18 but the reason I didn’t I just said I’m physically not ready
yeah mhm
and so I stayed to to
get back in the program get stronger and all of that that’s why I stayed a couple more years
cuz mentally and physically I wasn’t there
but he but he seems to
But he’s there but the players now are more
mature beyond his years
yeah and mentally I’m not I’m not concerned about that and physically I’m not really either i just I just think that rookie of the year is a is a welcome expectation for a player of his caliber when we’re I think we’re also kind of skewing the situation a bit because we have expectations of Dallas because of the roster the coaching and what they’ve done over the past couple years with Luca and now adding him into that scenario and situation were raising the expectations for him i think he’s going to have an impact but to say that he is going to be or should have the responsibility as an as an 18 19 year old to come into the Dallas Mavericks and push them into contention
that’s a heavy cross to bear for
No I think he can contribute and I think because he can fit with those other guys and contribute is what I like about him giving them a boost because here’s the other part it’s really it’s not just like they have a big three with Kyrie AD and uh
Coupe
and Coupe it’s you got PJ Washington who is a good player the the Derek Lively Daniel Gaffford combination at five uh Klay Thompson coming off
this is the thing about those players you talk about they they’re like they’re like about Clay
they’re like they need a conductor at this point
you know what I’m saying yeah
they’re like the band that needs a conductor those players
you know and that make
Do you think that’s him
he He might be pushed in that position
wow
you know what I’m saying early okay
because think about Clay and think about Lively their games like Clay’s a catch and shoot guy he doesn’t need doesn’t use a lot of dribbles lively is a live threat like they need somebody to kind of set them up
see that’s why I think they that’s why I prefer Chris Paul over D’Angelo Russell for them
i would I would agree but do you think do you think he has the playmaking skim making my segment yesterday when I show his playmaking i mean are you paying attention when we come on the set and do these these things rick
I don’t think I was on segment i may have been
I showed you that he has that thing that surprised me was his playmaking ability to where he came off the pick and roll through lobs found guys through round the back like he got that i didn’t you know that was the thing that shocked me though that’s why I say he can get put in that role early to where you seeing his intangibles which you know a lot of people who didn’t watch college say they didn’t know he can do all of that and without Kyrie without like a starting point guard like you’ll have some guys fill in that spot but probably aren’t really starting point like maybe I think Exum is still on the roster that’s what I’m saying they g that’s why the CP3 thing makes a lot of sense but he can get he he can be given a lot of responsibility to where you he can really show his game on a veteran team early well earlier today Rick gave his NBA comp for Cooper flag and it was Paul’s former teammate
kevin Garnett
it was one it was one of
one of Okay sorry one of the comps would you like to amend the comp
no i want to hear it all
yeah no we’ll go we’ll go with what I gave this morning um I’m going to do a podcast later that will give a whole different Okay take on this why why I struggle not content it’s fine fine Rick
whatever
no I’m gonna We’re gonna amplify i’m gonna amplify but
this was a scared challenge you’re scared of something
yeah because I don’t It’s really hard for me to put a finger on who Cooper is
but you did
and he played with one of the guys that I used as a ceiling so right now yes i said coming in this show it was going to be a challenge and this is why because I don’t know what’s coming back from the other side so let’s bring it you know I mean like I like to give comps like like real comps like that’s kind of comparable you know like like as opposed to the constitution
exactly that went that ain’t
subliminal message right there
you’re talking about like salmon and branzino it’s two different fishes you know what I’m saying
okay i hear you with the culinary
Cooper like I want to I want to
Bobby Fle
i want to compare him to guys that are similar in size similar in game now you I think you kind of compared them in like similarities in like the motor like probably one of the
motor playmaking because I don’t know if you noticed but he’s a better playmaker than you realized
no but look like that’s why if you had have been listening once again when I gave him a comparison to Carolinko which is kind of similarity like what did you say
you’re not the fun teacher anymore by the way what
about this you paying attention in class
so listen I do pay attention to what you say though you said earlier and what you said his game was going to be was what he’ll be numbers wise everything across the board so what was who was my comparison andre Karolinko right
yeah that’s not a very good com that’s not a very good comp
oh so you saying Andre Karolinko wasn’t that guy that put up numbers across the board
he wasn’t the playmaker that Coupe is
listen I looked up and I saw games with Kolinko 14 points 12 rebounds five steals five assists five blocks that sound like something Cooper the flag can give you yes that’s my comparable you know so it makes more sense a guy who was his size same build yeah of course he didn’t have the playmaking skills and you were kind of like didn’t know who had these kind of
Who was this individual what’s the individual’s name that you compared him to this morning because no you guys are just talking
the ceiling I said the ceiling I said was Kevin Garnett the basement i said in
he averaged 10 points per game six rebounds per game 1.8 assists he finished six
KG
so that’s But KG is also 611 240T 7T
like it was they play a different position that’s why I said like
Cooper he prefers 6’11 and Cooper is 69 205 pounds
yeah so
he he’ll gain some weight he’ll put on
he’s not going to grow
and he’s not going to play the same position you know what I’m saying he’s gonna be more perimeter based whereas you know KG But KG played a lot of high post
yeah but that that’s not Cooper he going to be on the perimeter
yeah you know what I’m saying
different game too yeah so that’s why I say your other comp
so the basement was Lamar ODM the ceiling was Kevin Garnett and the most likely was uh Blake Griffin not when he came into the league but Blake Griffin from Detroit Pistons
just destroying his comps
hold on detroit Pistons on because as a playmaking forward as a guy that you could play through that’s where that’s the difficulty I had is
Did you get your chat GBT that’s that what they say man
that is I’m just trying to see i told you Rick Saturday at 10:00
you know where it’ll be right
uh so I have my hot tape so my my my new my new parameters bam out of bio as the ceiling um Shawn Marion is another one that I had as
that’s actually a good one
oh thank you
that was a good cuz I thought that too
but but but
Oh that’s a good
But Shawn is I think Shawn’s more athletic and I don’t know if he’s the playmaker that
Yeah but he had a lot of they have a lot of the same kind of intent i agree like if you’re missing one thing okay but if you got like three or four different things that’s a good comparable
okay well you don’t you disagree you disagree with the the late se the late career Blake as a comparison the way he played
i just think like I want to compare Cooper to more of a guy who had like a motor blake didn’t have a motor
huh
blake was a dunker blake didn’t play with the defensive tenacity that Cooper flag
I think I think later he did because he because he couldn’t jump out of the gym he wasn’t the same offensive guy
and he’s not like Cooper’s not a shot blocker
blake is in another kind of category
okay what about the Bam what about the Bam ceiling because I think they’re both high motor not really shot blockers
i can I can second number two’s number two’s offensive
i can see some Bam i could see that that’s not That’s a good one
what’s wrong with the guy that played
Blake was 26 and five i don’t think he’s a shooter like that you don’t think he is
i don’t think he’s I don’t think I don’t think Cooper is the shooter that Dirk was durk was elite as a shooter
no like this guy his role cuz he can play a role i’m not sure if he could be a superstar
yeah i don’t think he can be the number one i think he’d be a really good number two
yeah and that’s why I gave him Kolinko without the play you know he has more playmaking but listen he can do it all and if he gets in the right system the right coaching that’s gonna put a battery in his back and it’s gonna be like “Hey go ahead and do you young fella.” He could he could become a superstar you know listen you’re like you know he’s the first white number one draft pick since 77 did you know that american
american American white did y’all Did you know that
i did not know that
there’s a difference
not ancestral white not Ken Benson in 1977
wow
kent Benson 1977 wow you you you covered him
what do you think of What
did you cover him or did y’all grow up together
you covered Kent Benson didn’t you
i covered his lookalike adam Keith adam
adam Keith how do
you like that for a name um
what uh my one concern in though in the comps is his athleticism like
I think he’s look like you see how athletic he is think about this
but but he looks athletic at the college level
all right listen to this listen I’ve watched like players grow i saw Vince in high school right
mhm super athletic
believe it or not Vince got more athletic
okay
when he like about fifth sixth year in the league
he got like the players jump
he hit another I was at my athletic peak probably like when I turned 29 but that’s what I’m saying like these these players are so young his body is going to change dramatically in the next three years yeah
he’s going to put on more muscle he’s going to be stronger he will likely be quicker because of the strength that he’s going to put on the anticipation that he will be be able to develop from being at the NBA level like he’s the body control that he’ll have from training up against NBA players the jump that these players take from 18 to like 21 is so dramatic they physically visibly look like different players
the other part that I was trying to capture was is is I I think he has an element of nasty and grit to him right from the start
pretty player
that Yeah no I didn’t say nothing i’m just listening to you
no no no
joy Joy had What do we got
joy had a smile at the end of that she tapped that with a smile grits and grits
grit
coachable coach sponge
sponge
why don’t we just hold that up
he shows great morale
just hold that up
great team morale
this is what Great team morale crazy man
heavy player
heavy
i hope I hope the audience knows where we’re going with all this
i mean this is the most complete player we didn’t seen come in in quite some time no seriously though no seriously think about it like we saw Winyama come in he’s still He’s still getting number one pick number one pick
number one
you know we seen Zion come in he still has some things to work on like as the number one pick in a while this is like the most complete player that I’ve seen in quite some time at the number one
he’s a great base absolutely
some of those players that have come in have been very obviously raw
right right and so like him he’s a he’s he’s close to a finished product as far as his game he just got to sharpen his tools and then once you start hitting consistency that’s when you become great when you doing something very consistent night in and night out where you giving me the same product on the floor and it and and it’s high level
i get the feeling we’re trending toward that it used to be teams picked high picked projects picked physical like they got the fris they got the physical tools to be freakish but um but but need to be refined and now I think we’re got we’re we’re shifting back toward we want basketball players
it’s not that we shifted back toward that because he still was a freshman coming out
you know and
but but he’s got more he’s got a surprisingly complete game for a freshman
it’s surprisingly complete game as far a freshman cuz most of the young guys we picked we picked him off the potential they still had a lot of things to work on where him
his game is really defined right now
yep
will the Mavs be title contenders next season with Cooper flag i it all depends on when Kyrie comes back and what he’s like when he does come back um I I I have them as longot contenders but I have them in the mix i I have OKC as the as the reigning threat in the in the Western Conference to go back i have Denver right behind them as the biggest threat to not allowing that to happen and then I have Minnesota Dallas Houston like I got a I got a a a group behind those two but I want to put Dallas in there
no I’m not gonna say Lakers why would I say Lakers no definitely Dallas has a opportunity to contend
you think that the that Dallas has a better opportunity than the Lakers right now
i do cuz we right now we got to try to figure it out we They We They got theirs figured out
damn
this is the most This is the most sober Keshan I have ever heard no I
look Check this out reality is struck hard in LA but you got to be we got to be real
have a better chance right now than Dallas
no we here here’s why we think
reality struck hard right here
here’s why you think that because they got two major stars
uhhuh
and that’s it
and then if you want to Austin Reeves if you want to throw that in there
you know as Austin aren’t you
huh
you really come off of Austin
no I haven’t come off of him but if we could throw him in a package and get something that we need
bye see you later but but yes because much like Rick stole my notes on the Kyrie situation when he comes back maybe in January off that injury you still got PJ Washington you still got Lively Gaffford you got AD let’s not act like AD if he stays healthy it’s always an if right cuz you don’t know what you’re going to get night in and night out if he’s going to show up or not show up but when he’s on the floor
dude’s a hell of a player right obviously and so now you add this young man to the equation and you go get you a Chris Paul so to speak at the guard spot because when we when you think about it when they made that trade for Luca to AD Kyrie got hurt
right
if Kyrie was there we don’t know what Dallas would have turned out
got
and then AD Yeah got hurt the next game I got no he got hurt two quarters in money after Luca got traded so now you think about it if they stayed healthy where would they have been Now you add this kid and I keep forgetting Klay Thompson is there no matter what we think about his age he still understands how to win and win big and be a major contributor and so I think they have a chance and it ain’t nothing i’m not off the Lakers i just We’re not finished yet we got some stuff to do
that’s fair
no they’re not a they’re not a contender not right now like they’re a playoff threat and like I said earlier they need a they need a conductor
you know what I’m saying and they don’t have nobody to to direct them like they that they have all these other pieces but they need like Chris Paul is not a bad look
i was going to say I was about to ask you what you think about that
no that’s I don’t want D’Angelo he’s going to balance the air out of the ball i don’t want that yeah like Chris Paul if he can I actually like high IQ i mean you seen what Chris Ball did for Oklahoma City i seen what Chris Paul did for San Antonio them young fellas
and he going to be tough you know he going to be tough on them you know if he can give you a good 24 minutes and you can use the other guys for backup it can work
you know but you need somebody to do to
Yeah is that
make it all the
Is that conductor that is that what he is the conductor conductor
yes yes they don’t have that yet but like Cooper Flag he he needs he’s good but he’s not ready to be that yet right out the gate
like you know Anthony Davis needs somebody to like get him in his spots mhm same thing with Lai Gaffford PJ Washington these guys are catches Klay Thompson they just need that conductor they’re a piece away and Kyrie is that guy
you know and even when Kyrie comes back I still like Kyrie off the ball
mhm
like cuz that’s when he’s been at his best when he’s one
yeah more of a two than a one let’s talk about another drafty from last night ace Bailey was taken fifth overall by the Jazz after a tumultuous pre-draft process that might have contributed to him falling two spots from a rejected top three overall pick in terms of talent bailey was the only American player that hadn’t conducted a single pre-draft workout and said he was surprised the Jazz picked him what do you make of the Jazz taking Ace Bailey
well first off I want to go talk about the kid suit i like the suit it was looking real spliff the hat to the side i guess that’s what they call swag these days or you know that that motion having that motion but I like what the Jazz did they they picked the best available player because to me I think he has the biggest upside of all the players in the draft he has superstar potential i believe and I think that Utah Jazz see this is the thing about Utah they got to build through the draft because no free agents is really going to Utah so whenever Utah has been good and and and been a playoff threat or contender it’s because of the draft picks they’ve grown with you know when they had Darren Williams uh then they traded for Carlos Boozer do I believe they traded for Carlos Boozer or did he start there
he signed there as a free agent
from Cleveland right
yeah because he bounced
right he bounced over there but they they built around Darren Williams and then you know obviously you know back in the day with Carl Malone and John Stockton they built them through the draft and so I like this pick you know I know the young fella didn’t really want to be there but listen I think this is a tre tremendous opportunity for him to grow develop you know and some of the places I hear he wanted to go I think I heard he wanted to go to Brooklyn which hasn’t been a really good organization the Wizards who hasn’t really been thriving of late as an organization
you stay close to home
yeah but sometimes that’s not what’s best
you know i think this is going to be a great place for him i think Danny A did a phenomenal job drafting cuz he drafted uh what’s my kid that came out of Florida uh
oh the point guard
the point guard you know they drafted him too
clayton
clayton yes and so I think they had the best draft moving forward i love this kid’s potential i hope that you know something doesn’t persuade him or agents to say “Hey we don’t want to be here.” and thinking that the grass is greener on the other side because I’ve seen players that’s done that and it hasn’t worked out i think Utah is a great place i think it’s a great run organization and you should think twice uh before trying to decide whether you want to be there or not
yeah there’s certain things that kind of worry me a little bit in terms of he says that he didn’t know that they had interest my
Well that happens though yeah but Utah wanted him to work there was a bunch of teams that wanted him to work out that he wouldn’t work out for so either there’s a disconnect between him and his team or he’s not being forthright in terms of of what the situation was i got to ask you I I like for me it just you’re right Danny A took the best available player
as he should regard Right i’m just wondering how you because you’ve got much more experience with Danny what what do you think of the fact that this kid by reports didn’t want to be there and Danny didn’t care he’s like “I’m gonna take the best player and we’ll work it we’ll figure out.”
As a GM your job is to try to collect the best assets
and say like they they figure out “Oh maybe he shouldn’t be here.” That’s a great trade piece right there there’s so many teams that want that kid to where he can package him up and possibly bring in an allstar
so like that’s my thinking well I’m going to get the best piece right here i don’t care you want to be or not this is the best available player at this slot i’m taking him
honestly when when it when they took him I thought it was to trade him to the Washington Wizards
so now you
for their pick and and and more because I know Washington wanted to move up to get this kid so maybe in the future you still have that so I I just it’s um it just feels so very Danny Angus just to say I’m going to do what I think is necessary and you know what we’ll figure out the feelings later
you know what when people get drafted a lot of the times
they don’t want to go to certain places
until they get drafted to go to Boston
exactly and then you realize at the end
oh this is the place for me
this I’m getting ready to get a check i’m good i’mma settle down because it’s so much that goes on you know what I’m saying when you’re getting ready to get drafted so many people telling you you’re going to go here you’re going to be the third pick you’re going to be and then all of a sudden a team takes you out of nowhere and you’re kind of disappointed
until you put that hat on
and once you put that hat on
and it’s all good then at that point you like I’mma be all right when did you embrace Boston man you know I I just
You were mad that you fell
yeah i was pissed that I fell and like him I didn’t know they had interest in me either like because I didn’t even work out for them at all talked to nobody from the organization but like
you know I remember getting there the first week the first week I was there I met Red Arab and I was like damn that’s Red Arback
you know he had a cigar and everything so it was just like okay my eyes got wide i was like man he he he was like Paul come here he called me over i didn’t even know he knew me
man i remember sitting down talking to him and I was like damn you know I’m seeing the former players i’m seeing you know Cedric Maxwell i was like damn you know as much as I didn’t want to be here this is you know I’m a historian of the game and I respect what Boston brought to the NBA as far as like the foundation of the NBA and what it’s become
and so I was just like man this might be all right you know and it was just like
you know this is tradition over here you looking up at the banners you know this is what got me into basketball watching Celtics versus Lakers okay I’m with it
well it all worked out
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Joy Taylor, Keyshawn Johnson, Paul Pierce, and Ric Bucher discuss expectations for Cooper Flagg after being drafted by the Dallas Mavericks. Paul reacts to Ric’s bold comparison of Flagg to Kevin Garnett and shares why he believes Cooper has a massive ceiling. The crew also weighs in on the Utah Jazz selecting Ace Bailey and what that means for their rebuild.

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Paul Pierce on Cooper Flagg’s big ceiling, Garnett comparison & Ace Bailey to the Jazz | SPEAK
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