A new era has dawned in Dallas. Things look different from when Luka Dončić took the Mavericks' identity with him when GM Nico Harrison gave him the big ole stanky boot. And it is just his luck that Dallas' new day didn't just come with two over-the-hill superstars, but also a young potential superstar.
Cooper Flagg brings with him the entire future and hope of the Dallas Mavericks. And if he pans out, what a future it will be. Scouts have hyped him up as one of the most complete prospects to come out of the box (Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo Sports sums it up very well), and on top of all of his tools and physicality, Flagg probably has the mentality and coachability to maximize his skill set. He can run the pick-and-roll right now, fits easily into every system and his potential as a three-level isolation scorer.
All in all, it's not that surprising to hear that Jason Kidd plans to trot Flagg out at point guard at different points this season.
The shock factor, admittedly, is there, and it wouldn't be out of left field for anyone to scoff at the idea. Trying to jam a true forward into the role of a supersized point guard screams that the Mavs are way too desperate to recreate Luka Dončić in a lab.
But if you dig just a little bit, the idea kind of makes sense. Here's what Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News quoted Flagg on regarding Kidd's plans for him:
"“I’m looking forward to it. Coach Scheyer trusted me a lot last year; I handled it a lot. I didn’t bring it up a ton, but in the halfcourt I handled it a lot; set up a lot of different actions. I think it’s something I can do at a high level so I’m excited to just experiment; do some new things”"Cooper Flagg
Just the response that you expect from someone tagged with the 'coachable' label. And Flagg isn't wrong. FOX Sports' advanced stats on the 2025 Blue Devils highlighted several eye-popping stats for Flagg. Outside of his team-leading numbers, Flagg also led Duke (and lapped their starters) with a massive 30.7 usage rate, which would eclipse that of Jalen Brunson, LeBron, and Nikola Jokic. Duke's offense ran through him, and you know he wasn't spending much time back to the basket.
He was efficient as a playmaker too. He also led Duke in assists per game, and despite his massive usage rate, only came in the middle of the pack regarding turnover percentage (his assist percentage was also just as eye-popping as his usage rate at 26.6 percent).
Cooper Flagg's potential as a point guard goes beyond the numbers
Let's remember who is coaching him. Jason Kidd's biggest claim to fame before coaching the Mavs was probably seeing and capitalizing on the potential of Giannis Antetokounmpo. Before Giannis became the newest Baby Shaq (TM), Kidd had him run plenty of point for the Bucks. And if you look up Jonathan Wasserman's old Bleacher Report scouting profile for Giannis, it looks eerily like a very raw and unpolished version of Cooper Flagg's. Even though Giannis didn't stay there, his two seasons at guard certainly prepped him to become one of the most mobile bigs in NBA history.
On top of it all, the Mavericks are in the same position to experiment as the 2016 Bucks. Another FanSided article by a very smart and handsome contributor (gotcha) pointed out that with Kyrie likely out for the majority of the 2026 season, there is no reason not to get weird with Cooper Flagg's positioning. He'ss a plug-and-play guy, so experiment where you can plug him in. Who's he going to compete with for primary ball-handling duties? D'Angelo Russell?
Even if Flagg doesn't end up being a true point guard near the end, treating him like Luka Dončić but three inches taller could only help him develop, especially over an 82-game season. If you're the Mavs coaching staff, there's literally no reason not to.
Because without Kyrie and AD (cross your fingers and pray to the injury gods though), what else could this season really mean for you?