The wild fate of basketball will be dispatched Cooper Flag Arrived in Dallas in 2025 with the highest draft pick. The 2025 draft was a draft by Cooper Flagg, and there is good reason. He is one of the best prospects of the millennium and his presence will change the trajectory of his future franchise.
The franchise is almost certainly the Dallas Mavericks, who have gained a much-needed lifeline after inexplicably trading Luka Doncic. There are a lot of Basketball-related consequences in the draft, but it's another day's story. The idea of whipping with Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis is a fascinating basketball.
How will Flag's role in Dallas change?
Assuming Dallas can avoid stacking damage, Flag's character will change dramatically with Duke's appearance. Flag was the fulcrum of Duke’s offense last season, and his use of freshman strikers has been high in history, especially those as young as Flag. His 30.8% usage rate is comparable to any freshman striker in recent college basketball history.
In Dallas, the presence of solidified stars and role-player will suppress his usage. We might see Flagg's slot machines as the third option for Davis and Irving's early careers. This is a significant possibility that he might have seen landing in Utah, Washington or Charlotte.
Despite the strong defensive attention Flagg received, he created effective offenses, achieving a 59.3% real shot and an excellent 2.0 assist ratio. He will have a chance to improve his efficiency at the next level soon, as defense is more important to Davis and Irving rather than Flagg.
His Playtype frequency will certainly shift from his sponsor usage in college. According to Synergy, Flagg uses 38.5% of his property as a pickup, quarantine player or a rear player. For comparison, Nikola Jokic spent 41% of his property on these three playback platforms this season.
In Dallas, Flag will be found from the perimeter, cut into baskets, roll and score transitions. Throughout his college and high school career, he has mastered all of these experiences skillfully.
Flagg will flourish in the NBA
Aside from his potential as a major on-ball creator and a major paint defender, Flag's scalability could make him a special prospect. While he could take over the game himself, Flag had no problem returning to the lower-using role. Many young players can’t or won’t play at Flagg’s level.
He would do well in the short scrolls of Irving, making his face weapon in space Quick floor handlingG finds open teammates. He and Davis have great potential to thrive with Flagg as Davis or Flagg among players screened by Davis. His perimeter skills can bring Dallas together with his mix, Davis, Dereck Lively and Daniel Gafford.
The rebuilding team will accelerate Flag's offensive development, forcing him to learn and grow through mistakes as a heavy use of the engine. In Dallas, he won't grow too fast, for better or worse. His early defensive influence and elite versatility may help make devastating defenses for the Mavericks, but they won’t rely on him early to create the main creation.
One day, Flag will evolve into that main creator. Whether it is due to Davis and Irving's injury or something else, his time in the sun will come. Until then, he will learn and grow into a complementary offensive player in an environment of (hopefully) winning.
