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A lot of statements are true about the Dallas Mavericks. One of them is the fact Coach Jason Kidd and Co. are still struggling to find their footing after losing Anthony Davis while also not having Kyrie Irving. Another is the fact that Cooper Flagg was immediately impactful in the team despite just coming out of the Duke Blue Devils system. NBA legend A.C. Green has seen how great the rookie Mavs sensation has been and already sees him as a star. The Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns all-time great even got into the specifics of Flagg's style of play.
Mavs' Flagg impresses NBA, Lakers legend
The Mavericks have now accepted the fact that they need a high draft pick after this season. Coach Kidd's squad is currently the 13th-ranked team in the Western Conference and they can fall even more if they manage to lose six more games. Despite all of this tanking and the woes that come alongside it, Flagg has still been putting up numbers for the Mavs.
Green is seeing all of that and had to give his flowers to the young gun, via Matt Moore of The Action Network.
"Coming into this season, his first one, he didn’t come in trying to be something he wasn’t. He came in trying to understand where he was at, and a lot of young players don’t really do that. I’m glad that as the season has progressed, he’s started to see where and how he can be effective out there on the court — where he can find his shot, how teams are going to play him, what they think about him, and how they’re going to try to defend him," the Lakers legend said.
If there is someone who knows the value of continuously playing despite rough circumstances, it's the NBA great who was nicknamed 'Iron Man'. Flagg has shown great qualities regardless of the outcomes. He is still a very tough competitor and is a favorite to win the Rookie of the Year trophy. It's all because he has played in 58 of the 70 Mavericks games so far while notching 20.1 points on a 47% clip from the field alongside 6.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists on a nightly basis.
Green knows that Flagg is already a star in the NBA. Moreover, he posits that this Mavericks system is exactly what the young gun needs.
"More importantly, he’s figuring out where he fits in that system. Obviously, their team just keeps changing, but they’re only going to get better with the level of players they have — and when Irving gets back, obviously, it’s just going to improve. I think down the road it’s going to be good for him and for them. So yeah, I’m 100 percent in support of Cooper, as well as the Mavericks team. I love what they’re trying to put together over there," the NBA great added.
There have been a lot of years that the Mavericks have existed from guys like Mark Aguirre to Dirk Nowitzki and Luka Doncic. Green is just happy that his former team has been great at developing talents who show up despite the odds.
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