The Mavericks set Cooper Flagg up to fail and it's paying off

Rookie Cooper Flagg has received a crash course on the NBA and how quickly he will be judged based on his on-court performances, night after night. Circumstances beyond his control spurred Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd to put the ball in his hands right away and see what he could do at point guard.

Flagg's game has evolved considerably

Flagg recently appeared on the Pat McAfee Show and waxed philosophical on all things Dallas Mavericks and his development as a playmaker during his rookie campaign.

“Coming in, I wasn’t expecting…kinda to be thrown in the fire as much. Obviously, I was looking at AD, Kai, Klay…And obviously, with some of the injuries and stuff, it just didn’t work out that way,” said Flagg.

With Kyrie Irving sidelined for the entire season due to his torn ACL in his left knee, Flagg understandably struggled early to adjust to his new point guard role. Critics started to doubt him. But Flagg persevered. He competed. And he has continually improved and become more skilled as a playmaker as his first NBA season winds down. And now he’s added a skill set that will benefit him for the rest of his career.

Guard skills are highly valued in a league that increasingly favors positionless basketball. As Flagg develops his point guard abilities, Dallas’s future prospects will improve the more versatile he can become on the basketball court.

Flagg was forced to learn on the fly

“I was kind of just thrown out there a little more than I would have expected and had a little more responsibility,” said Flagg. However, he already sees the net positive in how Coach Kidd is working to accelerate his development as the team’s franchise player.

Kidd briefly gave the point guard duties to undrafted rookie Ryan Nembhard to relieve some pressure off Flagg on the perimeter and to boost his confidence. This move helped Flagg turn the corner, and he has been thriving ever since. Now, Kidd has reintegrated Flagg as a playmaker, and things are clicking much better for the Rookie of the Year candidate.

Kidd's point guard gamble hit the jackpot with Flagg

“The point guard thing…Coach Kidd has given me that confidence to be a creator and learn the game in a lot of different ways. I think it’s just helped me get comfortable all around.”

Flagg already sees the light at the end of the tunnel, and it seems that Jason Kidd’s crash course in NBA playmaking is paying off after all. Flagg is enjoying his best assist month of the season so far, with 5.9 assists per game in March. He capped that off with a 27-point, 10-assist gem in a win against a tough Cleveland Cavaliers squad on March 15.

Jason Kidd and Mavericks fans are counting on more performances like that as Dallas heads into an important offseason, aiming to build around Flagg as quickly as possible.