Jason Kidd wants Cooper Flagg at point guard: 'Want to make him uncomfortable'
The Cooper Flagg era in Dallas is officially underway, as the No. 1 overall pick from the 2025 NBA Draft was introduced on Friday, June 27.
In that introductory news conference, Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd didn't hold back his intentions for Flagg, including throwing him into a position in the NBA summer league that he doesn't have a ton of experience at: point guard.
"I don't look at the position. I want to put him at point guard. I want to make him uncomfortable and see how he reacts (to) being able to run the show," Kidd said.
Kidd went on to say that Flagg will also play the 2 and the 3 with the Mavericks, two positions that he played at Duke and is "comfortable in."
"We want to push," Kidd said. "And I think he's going to respond in a positive way. It's all right to fail. It's all right to turn the ball over. We've talked about that.
"Just understanding the guys that I've been around that have been young from Giannis (Antetokounmpo) giving him the ball and he failed, but he wanted to come back and have the ball. I'm excited to give him the ball against the Lakers (in the summer league) and see what happens."
Though Flagg was never listed at point guard for Duke or played it, the Naismith Player of the Year did bring up the ball at times for the Blue Devils – on top of showcasing other skillsets a point guard has while never playing the position. In 37 games last season, Flagg led all Duke players with 4.2 assists per game.
Being selected No. 1 overall by the Mavericks, Flagg will receive a four-year NBA rookie contract with a total estimated value of $62.7 million, according to Spotrac. Noted by the Fayetteville Observer, part of the USA TODAY Network, Flagg's four-year contract is only guaranteed for the first two years under the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement as Years 3 and 4 of the contract are team options.
Flagg is set to begin his NBA career with Dallas in the NBA 2K26 Summer League on Thursday, July 10 at 8 p.m. ET against the Los Angeles Lakers and Bronny James.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
44 minutes ago
- USA Today
NBA free agency: Who are the biggest names on the market?
The NBA free agency period has officially started with several notable names available. All teams were able to begin negotiations with free agents who had finished out the season on their respective rosters since June 23. Now, teams will have the opportunity to reach out to all other free agent players as early as Monday afternoon. Several players have already avoided the free agency process and reportedly worked out deals to remain with their current teams. That group includes guard Kyrie Irving (Dallas Mavericks), guard Fred VanVleet (Houston Rockets) and center Naz Reid (Minnesota Timberwolves). Forward John Collins has already exercised his player option to return to the Utah Jazz. Player movement will continue to be reported over the next week, but all free agent contracts will not become official until Sunday, July 6, at 12:01 p.m. ET. Here are some of the biggest names expected to be on the free agent market: NBA power rankings: How all 30 teams stack up after 2025 NBA Draft LeBron James, Forward, Player option There was brief chatter about what's next for LeBron James after the season concluded for the Los Angeles Lakers, but there's no expectation that he will retire or put on a different uniform next season. The 41-year-old currently has a $52.6 million player option for the 2025-26 season that he's likely to opt into, according to ESPN's Sham Charania. James Harden, Guard, Player option Much like LeBron, James Harden has a $36.3 million player option that would allow him to return to the Los Angeles Clippers for the upcoming season. Harden was named to the All-NBA Third Team and was selected for his 11th All-Star game. Myles Turner, Center, Unrestricted free agent Turner's season just came to an end after falling short with the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. While Turner is likely to receive interest from several suitors, the Pacers likely have the advantage by having had a few days to negotiate with the big man exclusively in recent days. Julius Randle, Forward, Player option Julius Randle can return to the Minnesota Timberwolves roster with the $30.9 player option he has available to him. If he decides to return, it would help keep a similar lineup in Minnesota that just played in the Western Conference Finals. Jonathan Kuminga, Forward, Restricted Kuminga will have the opportunity to test the market and sign an offer sheet with any team, but it will be up to the Golden State Warriors to decide to match the terms of any offer he agrees to. Kuminga started 10 of the 47 games he played in for the Warriors in this past season, averaging 15.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in 24.3 minutes per game. He was tendered with a $7.9 million qualifying offer on Saturday, according to ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
On this day: Johnson born; Montross, Tillis drafted; Pinckney traded
On this day in Boston Celtics history, Celtics draft pick Joe Johnson was born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1981. Johnson would play his collegiate basketball at the University of Arkansas, which he would lead to the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament championship in 2000. The Little Rock native would be drafted by the Celtics in the 2001 NBA Draft with the 10th overall pick of the draft and would play for Boston for 48 games of his rookie season before being traded. The small forward would be dealt with Randy Brown, Milt Palacio, and draft assets to the Phoenix Suns for Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers in February 2002, then rejoin Boston for a single game in 2022. The former Razorback averaged 7.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game while with Boston. It is also the date of the 1994 NBA draft, held at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Celtics took one player of note, that being big man Eric Montross out of North Carolina, drafted with the ninth overall pick of the draft. Montross played two seasons with Boston, logging 8.8 points and 6.6 rebounds with the franchise, before he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks for draft assets. The Celtics would also draft Russian big man Andrei Fetisov 36th overall, but immediately traded him and forward Ed Pinckney for wing Blue Edwards and forward Derek Strong. Strong would play one season for Boston, logging 6.3 points and 5.4 boards per game over that stretch, while Edwards appeared in just 31 games for the franchise, recording 7.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per contest. It is also the anniversary of the 1982 NBA draft, held at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In this draft, the Celtics again selected just one player of note, which was center Darren Tillis, taken 23rd out of Cleveland State University. Tillis would be with the team for just 15 games before being dealt to the Cleveland Cavaliers for forward Scott Wedman. Tillis averaged 1.1 points per game over that short stretch. Later in the draft, the Celtics picked up Landon Turner out of Indiana. The Indianapolis native never suited up for Boston, however, as he had been paralyzed in a car accident in 1981, with the Celtics using the final pick of the 1982 draft to select him as a tribute to his impressive college career.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
WATCH: Wisconsin basketball star John Tonje reacts to his NBA Draft selection
What a moment for him Former Wisconsin Basketball star John Tonje witnessed his NBA dreams come true on Thursday evening. Surrounded by friends and family, Tonje looked on as NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum announced the Utah Jazz's selection with the 53rd pick of the 2025 NBA Draft. Immediately afterwards, his loved ones erupted in joy, eliciting a giant smile from Tonje. Here's the moment Tonje realized his NBA aspirations morphed into a reality: Tonje's journey is arguably one of the more memorable of any recent player to represent the Badgers. After playing just eight games before being sidelined for the entire 2023-24 season at Missouri due to injury, Tonje burst onto the scene as Wisconsin's most prolific offensive option. The 6-foot-5 wing began the season with a 41-point barrage against No. 9 Arizona -- a performance that included a baffling 21 made free throws -- to set the tone for what Wisconsin would accomplish during the 2024-25 slate. Tonje would then secure 2024 Greenbrier Tip-Off Tournament MVP nods with strong outputs in wins over UCF at Pittsburgh in UW's mid-November tournament, roughly three months before dropping 32 points in a signature triumph over No. 7 Purdue on the road. In the postseason, Tonje also registered 32 points against No. 7 Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship semifinal and 37 tallies against BYU in the Badgers' NCAA Tournament round of 32 loss. At the season's end, he was named a 2025 Second Team All-American, 2025 Naismith Player of the Year Semifinalist and member of the 2025 All-Big Ten first team. The three-level scorer will now join former Rutgers star Ace Bailey and Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr., who pocketed an NCAA title with the Gators in April, in Salt Lake City. The 2024-25 iteration of Utah went 17-65, the worst record in the entire NBA. Tonje's professional journey will begin in Utah's summer league action from July 5-7. Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
