The Dallas Mavericks are off to a forgettable start to the NBA season, and first overall pick Cooper Flagg is surely hoping to find himself in a better position soon. The 18-year-old rookie has been thrust into an unfamiliar role, and Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green has issued a clear warning about the team’s approach.
The Mavericks have used Flagg, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, as their primary point guard — a move Green believes may not be the best fit. Speaking on The Draymond Green Show, the four-time NBA champion questioned whether Dallas is setting its young star up for unnecessary struggles.
“It’s hard to play in this league when you don’t have a point guard,” Green said. “They’re trying Cooper at point guard, which I understand. You’re allowing him to play with the ball in his hands. He won’t ultimately be a point guard, but you may believe that that can help his development.”
Green added that Flagg still doesn’t fully grasp how teammates like Klay Thompson can complement his game and remains unsure of how to involve Anthony Davis in the offense. While such challenges are normal for a rookie, Green wonders if the Mavericks are risking a repeat of the mistake the Philadelphia 76ers made when they forced Ben Simmons into a similar role early in his career.
Green’s expectations for Flagg
Despite the Mavericks’ poor start, Green made it clear that Flagg isn’t to blame. The rookie has been placed in a difficult situation — playing out of position, surrounded by veterans who demand touches, and carrying a heavy workload for a struggling team.
“I think Cooper Flagg’s going to be incredible,” Green said. “We’re asking a rookie who’s not a point guard to be a great point guard. And that’s just not how this works. You’ve got to be careful — it’s not his real position.
“You ask yourself the question,” Green continued. “If Ben Simmons had been allowed to be a power forward who handled the ball instead of being forced to run the offense, would his career have turned out differently? The last thing you want is for him to lose confidence trying to play point guard because once you lose your confidence in this league, it’s nearly impossible to get it back.”
The difference between Simmons and Flagg
To be fair, it’s still early to draw firm comparisons between Flagg and Simmons. The former No. 1 pick’s decline came amid multiple back injuries, and he is currently out of the league. Simmons averaged just 5.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game for the Brooklyn Nets and the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2024-25 season — his last in the NBA to date.
Things are unlikely to get that bleak for Flagg, but the early returns from the point guard experiment have been far from ideal. Through his first stretch of games, the rookie is averaging 13.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.6 blocks per contest while shooting 40.3% from the field and 27.0% from beyond the arc.