Jason Kidd explains controversial Cooper Flagg decision that could pay off for Mavericks

When the Dallas Mavericks selected Cooper Flagg out of Duke with the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, many had him labeled as a dynamic two-way point forward who should make an instant impact in the league.

Instead, head coach Jason Kidd made an unorthodox decision to begin Flagg's rookie year. The Mavericks started him at point guard in the first seven games of the season, to the tune of mixed results.

Flagg went through plenty of growing pains, committing at least three turnovers in three of his first seven appearances. While there were struggles in October, the move is beginning to pay off for the Mavericks as the New Year approaches.

Obviously, development is the goal and it's the end result that will ultimately matter in Dallas.

Cooper Flagg's Time At Point Guard Is Part Of The Bigger Picture

On Friday night, Dallas won its fourth game in the last five outings, taking down the Brooklyn Nets, 119-111.

In the victory, Flagg had one of his most efficient outings of the season, recording 22 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block on 10/16 shooting. Impressively, the 8 assists were the second most of his career, which came in a game where he committed zero turnovers.

Head coach Jason Kidd believes the investment from Flagg is just part of the reason he's finding the light at the end of the tunnel. Making him comfortable with being uncomfortable is starting to pay off.

“I know it wasn’t a popular thing, but having him at point guard is something we needed to do sooner than later, because some will flip it and say, 'why didn’t you do this sooner?' As a coach, I’ll take the blame for that," Kidd said, per The Smoking Cuban's Noah Weber.

"But putting him in that position, understanding success is the last six minutes of the game, and it turns into the last three minutes, your best player is going to have the ball. Just understanding the game a little bit different than others. I wanted to see him handle the ball sooner," Kidd added. "Sometimes we fail, sometimes there’s success, but it doesn't turn us from trying to get better at our job."

Flagg hasn't committed a turnover in his past two starts. In a small sample size, he's averaging 1.8 turnovers per game over the last five games. That's down from 2.2 turnovers per game in his first 20 appearances.

Success isn't necessarily linear, though more experience will only benefit Flagg on his journey.

"That's the way I look at it. I’m not always right, but I will fail with him because I want to see him become successful. From past experiences of giving others the ball, we've had success and failures," Kidd said. "This is an 18-year-old in the sense of playing against the best players in the world. I want to see how he handles it. I thought he did an incredible job. The numbers will say something different."

"There is always a big picture, sometimes in society we want the now, but in the long game with him, because of his age, we just want to help be a part of that successful story," Kidd continued. "I think he can handle that, he's shown that he can handle it, he's never come to me and said he doesn't want to do something. He's open to ideas, and that's kind of cool for a young kid who has all of this information that's pouring into him, to be able to tell him why, and he can deliver it."

In 25 starts, Flagg is averaging 17.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.3 steals in 33.7 minutes per game.

Dallas returns to action with a road trip to Utah on Tuesday, December 15. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. ET.

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