Cooper Flagg has been playing more at forward lately, shifting from his initial point guard role. It is a change in strategy by the Dallas Mavericks that Coop welcomes, admitting that he had his struggles being the main facilitator.
The top overall pick in this year’s NBA Rookie Draft opened up about it in an interview with reporter Mike Curtis for the Dallas Morning News, sharing that while he welcomed the challenge of being a point guard despite being a natural forward, Flagg grappled with it to the detriment of the team.
"I don't know if I was ready to handle that right off the bat. I tried my best, and that's not to say I can't go back to it and I can't work on it and get better. I think it's just worked out lately where it's been better to have somebody else help and relieve pressure. It doesn't mean I can't bring it up and initiate offense,"said Flagg.
Playing Flagg at point guard
Coach Jason Kidd and the Mavericks already signified that they are going to play Flagg at the point guard even before the ongoing NBA season started. They took into account the fact that they were playing at least the first half of their season without their primary playmaker, Kyrie Irving, as he continues to recover from the ACL injury he suffered late last season.
Kidd also wanted to test the former Duke standout’s ability to react when put in uncomfortable situations on the court. Unfortunately for the Mavericks, while Flagg had his bright moments at the point, the team struggled overall to find success.
The team (3-10) is tied with the Indiana Pacers for the worst offense in the league, averaging 104.4 points per game. It is 27th in assist ratio at 16.9 and 23rd in turnover percentage at 16.3%. Such numbers are indicative of a team struggling with its ball movement, which has hindered Dallas’ ability to compete consistently.
Kidd’s decision to play Flagg at the point guard spot earned him flak from pundits and observers, including his own son, TJ, who were left confused over the strategy to have a rookie forward be the primary facilitator.
“Yeah, no, I don’t know why he’s playing at the point guard. That doesn’t make any sense to me, he’s not a point guard, I know that,” TJ said in a video posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Now at forward
Relieved of playing point guard and returning to his natural position as a forward, Flagg has responded well. Cooper has increased his scoring average to 17.0 points from 13.6 when he was at point guard, has been shooting better at 48.3% from 38.8%, and, interestingly, has been averaging more assists at 3.3 dimes from 2.9 previously.
Kidd has made it clear that they want to do a better job of getting Flagg the ball moving forward and letting him do his thing on offense. Given the Mavericks' current state of severe undermanning, with Irving out and Anthony Davis still doubtful due to calf issues, they are better served by maximizing the performance of the players they have available to help their cause.
Point guard proved not to be on the cards at this stage of Flagg’s career, but as they have been steadily realizing, Coop can help in so many other ways if allowed to do so.
Related: "Keep your head up" - Dirk Nowitzki has a powerful message to struggling Cooper Flagg
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Nov 16, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.