Jason Kidd: Mavericks are a 'great situation' for Cooper Flagg
Jason Kidd: Mavericks are a 'great situation' for Cooper Flagg
Jason Kidd believes the Dallas Mavericks are a good landing spot for potential No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg should the organization select him in the 2025 NBA draft.
Flagg is the overwhelming favorite to be the top pick after establishing himself as the National College Player of the Year at Duke. He is expected to begin his career with the Mavericks after the team won the lottery on Monday, despite just a 1.8% chance of doing so.
With established players on the roster, such as Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving, along with promising center Dereck Lively II and others, Kidd believes the Mavericks have a good balance of veterans who can help Flagg with the transition to the next level.
"I think this is a great situation for him," Kidd said on the "Dan Patrick Show" on Thursday. "I think when you talk about the different guys that we have already on the team, the pressure of living up to No. 1 will be a lot easier with the talent around him. When you talk about the other clubs (who are rebuilding), he would have to produce right away at a high, high level. I think this is a great situation for him to grow his game, where the pressure isn't as high, but we're playing for a championship. It'll be a lot of fun."
Flagg led the Blue Devils to the Final Four, averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks on 38.5% shooting from 3-point range. He became the 22nd player in program history to be named a consensus first-team All-American.
The 18-year-old entered the season with tremendous expectations as the consensus top recruit in the class of 2024. He was highly touted as the likely top pick in the draft and lived up to the hype after becoming the face of the sport this past season.
Flagg was among several prospects who attended the draft lottery at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, Illinois. He was, like most, surprised the Mavericks catapulted up from 11th to claim the top pick, but is eager about likely joining the franchise.
"As far as Dallas goes, (they) have a lot of really good pieces," Flagg said this week. "D-Live (being) from Duke is pretty cool. I think it would be a really cool opportunity."
The Mavericks have the first pick in the draft for only the second time in franchise history. They previously had the pick in 1981, when they selected Mark Aguirre in only their second draft, and will likely be adding Flagg to that short list on June 25.
After trading cornerstone Luka Dončić, the Mavericks can add another potential franchise-changing prospect in Flagg. Kidd admitted the final decision to draft him ultimately falls to general manager Nico Harrison, but the Hall of Famer said the team is "focused on" taking Flagg.
Just one year removed from advancing to the NBA Finals, the team believes it is still in a position to make another deep playoff run with a healthy roster and some minor tweaks. Kidd is confident the group can help Flagg get up to speed once he joins the organization.
"He doesn't turn 19 until December, so just understanding that he is young and very talented, can play both ends," Kidd said. "Being able to have older players, and when I say that out of respect, they're not dinosaurs, but when you look at the age of 30: Ky, A.D. Guys that are here -- Klay (Thompson) -- can definitely help with the process of going through a rookie season."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
2025 NBA Finals: The incredible Paul George trades that turned the Pacers and Thunder into title contenders
As it turns out, all you needed to do to reach the 2025 NBA Finals was trade Paul George. Remarkably, this year's Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers and Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder were both built from assets each team received in exchange for dealing George. How the Pacers built from trading Paul George Indiana selected George with the 10th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. He made four All-Star teams for the Pacers, leading them to a pair of conference finals appearances, before informing the franchise in 2017 that he was planning to sign elsewhere — preferably with the Los Angeles Lakers — in free agency. Advertisement Not wanting to lose George for nothing, Indiana dealt him to the Thunder on July 6, 2017, in exchange for a 25-year-old Victor Oladipo and a 21-year-old Domantas Sabonis. Both Oladipo and Sabonis developed into All-Stars under Indiana's watch, though as a tandem they peaked in a pair of first-round playoff exits. (Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports Illustration) By 2020, Oladipo had begun to experience the right knee problems that would ultimately end his career, so the Pacers flipped him to the Houston Rockets as part of the four-team trade that sent James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets. In return, Indiana received Caris LeVert and a pair of second-round draft picks. One of those second-rounders became the 32nd overall pick in the 2023 draft, which the Pacers packaged, along with the No. 29 overall pick in the same draft, for a 2024 first-round draft pick from ... the Thunder. That selection was one of two first-round draft picks that Indiana dealt to the Toronto Raptors in January 2024 in exchange for Pascal Siakam, this year's Eastern Conference finals MVP. Advertisement Meanwhile, the Pacers flipped LeVert to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a 2022 second-round draft pick, a 2023 first-round draft pick and a 2027 second-round draft pick. The first two of those picks became Andrew Nembhard and Ben Sheppard, a pair of rotation players for this year's conference champions. Sabonis played for the Pacers until February 2022, when at the deadline they dealt him and some ancillary assets to the Sacramento Kings for Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson. Haliburton, of course, has developed into an All-NBA point guard for the Pacers and their best player. Finally, Indiana flipped Hield to the Philadelphia 76ers at the 2024 trade deadline for a pair of second-round draft picks — the first of which they traded again, turning that selection into Johnny Furphy. Advertisement In one way or another, the Pacers turned George into Haliburton, Siakam, Nembhard, Sheppard and Furphy. That is roughly a third of Indiana's entire roster, half of its rotation and both of its leaders. How the Thunder built from trading Paul George George played two seasons for the Thunder — both first-round playoff exits. In July 2019, though, the Los Angeles Clippers came calling with an offer Oklahoma City could not refuse. The Clippers were trying to sign Kawhi Leonard in free agency, but the two-time Finals MVP wanted a star partner in L.A., so the organization went about the business of trying to pry George from the Thunder. Advertisement OKC executive Sam Presti squeezed the Clippers for everything he could, acquiring Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and the rights to a handful of first-round draft picks in exchange for George. As if recouping Gilgeous-Alexander, this year's MVP, were not enough, one of those picks — the No. 12 selection in 2022 — became Jalen Williams, who has developed into an All-Star for Oklahoma City. Much of the rest of the package from the Clippers is tied up in this year's draft, as the Thunder own pick Nos. 15, 24 and 44 in June, all from assets they received in the George deal. Oklahoma City can use those selections to replenish whomever they lose from their rising salary costs over the next couple of years. Between Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and whoever is still to come, the Thunder have built from George a budding dynasty. First, though, they must get through what they traded to acquire George from Indiana.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Mark Daigneault explains how Thunder have navigated the glitz and glamor of NBA Finals
Mark Daigneault explains how Thunder have navigated the glitz and glamor of NBA Finals As the Oklahoma City Thunder prepare for the Indiana Pacers, the circus that typically surrounds the NBA Finals is brand new for most of the roster. Even Alex Caruso — the lone champion on their roster — had a unique experience in The Bubble. Still three days away from Game 1, the Thunder's typical setup looks vastly different now compared to even Round 1 of the playoffs. Expect national and global media to flock to OKC this week. Practices have had simultaneous media availabilities — one on Zoom and one in-person. The attention will only increase tenfold. The NBA Finals Media Day will be hosted on Wednesday. Expect hundreds of folks to overwhelm the entire roster with questions. Usually holding practice at their facility, the Thunder will hold it at Paycom Center as the all-day event will be broadcast on NBA TV. Despite all this hoopla, the Thunder have remained focused on the goal. They're four wins away from a championship and enter as heavy favorites against the Pacers. Mark Daigneault has helped navigate his group from this first-time experience. 'There are some things that are different. We're gonna practice Wednesday at the arena and there's gonna be 100 people at the last 45 minutes of practice. Trying to pretend that's the exact same would be foolish on our part," Daigneault said. "That's going to feel a lot different and we're trying to define that. We're also going to try to define what's the same. And what's the same is when the ball goes up in the air." This is the best mindset to have. All the pageantry involved with the NBA Finals becomes irrelevant once Game 1 starts. The Thunder will need to Eurostep their way through all the glitter. Especially when they're universally seen as the favorite to win the series.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Former Spurs Player Delivers Definitive Verdict on 2013 NBA Finals Loss
Former Spurs Player Delivers Definitive Verdict on 2013 NBA Finals Loss originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The San Antonio Spurs lost to the Miami Heat in the 2013 NBA Finals in one of the most heartbreaking moments in franchise history, highlighted by Ray Allen's legendary game-winning 3-pointer in Game 6. Advertisement The Spurs would go on to lose in Game 7, although it set the stage for their bounce-back year in 2014, where they beat Miami in devastating fashion. During Allen's final shot in Game 6, the Spurs opted to have an unusual lineup on the floor to defend the 3-ball, and it worked against the Heat's first attempt. Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, and Boris Diaw were all on the floor, with rebounders Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter sitting on the bench in order to make contesting a shot easier. James missed a 3-pointer over Diaw and Parker, although the Spurs were unable to secure the rebound. Advertisement Stephen Jackson thinks that if he had been on the court, things would have gone differently. "I would have got the f------ rebound," Jackson said to Green on his podcast. "Ray damn sure wouldn't have got it. I mean, he wouldn't have got the shot off or none of that. He wouldn't have been involved because, you know, I take that s--- personally." Jackson was waived by the Spurs before the postseason to make room to sign Tracy McGrady. While Jackson was not a star for the Spurs that season, averaging 6.2 points and 2.8 rebounds, McGrady failed to score a single point for the Spurs in 32 minutes of postseason play. Jackson, since retiring, has long been critical of the Spurs, Parker, and Gregg Popovich. However, he won his only NBA title with the Spurs. Advertisement While it's true that he would have been an upgrade over McGrady in the series, Popovich would have been more likely to play Splitter or Duncan in the final seconds than Jackson. At the time, Ginobili, Green, and Leonard were all better perimeter defenders than he was, and if the Spurs wanted size on the court, his name would not have been the one called. Check out the Inside the Spurs home page for more news, analysis, and must-read articles. Related: Michael Wilbon Offers Which San Antonio Spurs' Trade Asset is Untouchable Related: Victor Wembanyama Reacts to San Antonio Spurs Unique News This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
