Mavericks could ruin Cooper Flagg by granting Anthony Davis his wish

The Dallas Mavericks officially drafted Cooper Flagg with the first overall pick, but they could ruin his superstar trajectory by letting Anthony Davis play the four and sliding the rookie down to the three. AD has said for years he wants to play next to another big man, despite the mountain of evidence his best position is at the five. It makes room for Dereck Lively II to start at center but pushes Flagg out of position.

The 6’8 forward’s versatility made in the number-one pick. He will run the Mavs offense for stretches in year one along with spacing the floor, getting buckets, and playing stout defense no matter his matchup. Flagg is best at the four because it makes it easier to involve him in the offense and allows him to punish mismatches. That will be more difficult playing as a wing.

The floor will be more cramped too. Flagg is a plus-shooter, but AD has shot just 25.7 percent from three over the last five years combined and Lively II has taken two 3-point attempts in his young NBA career. With two non-shooters and playmaking questions, it is not the ideal environment for a high-ceiling rookie to grow his game.

Mavericks could ruin Cooper Flagg by playing Anthony Davis at the four

Flagg is a generational prospect with the upside to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. If he is just a multi-time All-Star, it will be looked at as a disappointment given his immense hype.

The easiest way to make him look bad and stunt his growth is to play him out of position. Dallas should give him chances to do a bit of everything as a rookie, but letting him be a stretch four and weak-side rim protector is the key to maximizing his immense potential.

The Mavs won’t do that. They want to grant Davis his wish to play power forward. Dallas has a frontcourt logjam to solve this offseason as P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford also want significant minutes, and the Mavericks can only play so many big men. If everyone stays, Flagg may see minutes at the two, which will expose his on-ball defense and make life even harder on the rookie.

The 18-year-old needs time to develop. Flagg will make an immediate impact but do not expect him to be an All-Star contributor from the jump. The franchise's lack of a playmaking guard to create easy buckets and playing two non-shooters will create problems. Expect Flagg to look his best in the minutes he plays the four next to AD in year one.

The Dallas Mavericks will eventually figure it out. Hopefully, they have not stunted his growth by the time they do. Cooper Flagg is an elite prospect and the sky is the limit. Can Jason Kidd and the Mavs bring the best out of him? They must put him in positions to succeed and learn. Some rookie struggles are to be expected. Hopefully, J-Kidd can convince Anthony Davis to play more at the five to quickly bring the best out of Flagg.

Mavs fans should be ecstatic. They just got the number one pick and a new elite young talent to build around. Nico Harrison simply cannot miss this up again. Everyone in the organization should be all-in on maximizing Flagg. That includes playing him in his best position and putting the talent around him to maximize his game. The pressure is on Dallas to make it happen ASAP