Cooper Flagg has had his ups and downs in his first few games so far in his rookie season, but Kevin Durant believes that this is par for the course for the Dallas Mavericks rookie forward.
The first overall pick is averaging 13.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.9 assists on a woeful 38.8 percent shooting from the field across seven regular season games while operating mostly as the Dallas Mavericks’ point guard.
“I hate to inject myself into his (situation),” Durant told Rashad Miller of DallasHoopsJournal.com. “But I came in college playing four, five. I came to the league playing a two. So it’s like position changes like that can really throw you off early on in your career, but I think he’s still working through it and having some good games, you know?”
“It’s only a matter of time before he gets it and clicks for him. He understands truly what his role is — I think the sky’s the limit for him. He’s still working through it and having some good games,” he continued.
Dallas Mavericks News: Former NBA star pitches bold idea to solve the team’s lackluster offense
The Dallas Mavericks are off to a 2-5 start this season, and they’ve been held back by their league-worst offense, which has a rating of 103.6. In a recent episode of Run It Back, former NBA guard Lou Williams is calling for the team to make a significant lineup change.
“They got, they have to make some adjustments,” Williams explained. “Listen, we just talked about Houston and their point guard position. Dallas needs a point guard, and for whatever reason, they have one and he’s coming off the bench.”
“When an AD (Anthony Davis) is out of the lineup, you’re gonna have some struggles. But you have a guy in D’Angelo Russell who can do that,” he added. “He can score the basketball. He can facilitate your offense, and he can make plays for other guys, but you have him coming off the bench. At this point, you panic and you throw him in the starting lineup and you see if that helps.”
