NBA Reactions To Cooper Flagg Continue

Skepticism has continued to wane.

Now that Cooper Flagg has been in summer league, even though it was abbreviated to just two games, we’re getting more and more interesting reactions.

New teammate Naji Marshall was impressed, saying this: “I’m excited to play with Coop…There’s a lot of pressure being the number one pick. Just going out there and playing his natural game. I think he got the jitters out. In the second game, he came back with 30. It’s something to look forward to this season.”

Nolan Hickman, who played with Dallas in summer league, said this: “He’s a complete stud. He was the No. 1 pick for a reason.

“I saw that when we were back in training camp (last week). I saw a little bit of it in summer league this week. He’s a total stud, man. He’s going to be real good.”

Former NBA player and coach Sam Mitchell offered these thoughts: “I’m excited for Dallas. He’s not gonna make people forget Luka, but the way this team has the ability to win and the fact that Cooper Flagg is gonna be a different kind of a star for the Dallas Mavericks. I think these fans are gonna be all in.”

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, who has commented on Flagg before, said this this time: “You must realize he’s an 18-year-old kid. You can’t put too much pressure on him. But I think he’s way above that 18-year-old curve.”

There’s always a turd in the punch bowl of course.

Well, Draymond Green’s comments weren't exactly that, but he kind of misses the mark.

Green attempted to draw a comparisons between shutting rookies down in summer league play and posted this on Threads: “I find it very interesting that players get bashed for ‘load management’ but rookies get shut down during summer league these days ... fascinating huh.”

Green surely knows that those are two very different things. Summer league is about analysis and, for some players, getting reps, while regular season games actually count.

Once you know what you need to know in summer league, it doesn’t really matter if a player gets shut down or not, but during the season, there are two basic requirements: to keep fans invested and to win. As Adam Silver argues, it’s reasonable for fans to expect the best players to play. You could make an argument that load management helps winning, but the fan who pays to see Flagg or Green play won’t be happy if they sit out.

It’s a side argument, but an interesting one.