The Dallas Mavericks are less than a week away from drafting Cooper Flagg, a player likely to be the face of the franchise for the foreseeable future. In perhaps the least predictable season in the team’s history, Dallas traded superstar Luka Doncic, lost in the Play In tournament less than twelve months after playing in the NBA Finals, then capitalized on a 1.8% chance to grab the first pick in the NBA Draft. This was a roller coaster ride the likes of which even the most ardent theme park aficionado couldn’t dream up. An eagerly optimistic outlook gave way to utter disdain and disappointment, only to then land with hope in the form of 18-year-old Cooper Flagg.
Flagg was in town a few days ago to work out for the only team he plans on meeting with pre-draft. He enjoyed the company of Mavs’ brass and his future teammates over the course of two days with nothing but favorable reports following. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon revealed some interesting insight into how the Mavs – particularly head coach Jason Kidd – view Flagg after their brief get together.
Tim MacMahon on Cooper Flagg and his visit with the Dallas Mavericks:
“I’m told Jason Kidd sees shades of another Duke guy in Cooper Flagg, a guy who J-Kidd shared the Rookie of the Year Award with, Grant Hill… Cooper Flagg is really gonna have a chance, especially early in the… pic.twitter.com/5IxykmYo7J
— MFFL NATION (@NationMffl) June 20, 2025
If Kidd is correct and Flagg displays similarities to Grant Hill when his NBA career kicks off, the Mavs have a lot to look forward to. Hill’s last season in the league was 2012-2013, so it’s not a stretch to realize many in Mavs Nation witnessed his playing career in its latter years and know him more as a studio commentator. Also, his name is not mentioned often in the same breath as other Hall of Famers of his era. Regardless, he put together a Hall of Fame worthy career and a closer look reveals that the comparison between he and Flagg is not without merit.
Physically, the two are highly comparable. Hill listed at 6’8” 225 pounds during his NBA days, while Flagg charts at 6’9, 205 pounds (a number that will surely increase as his 18-year-old body rounds into even greater NBA shape). The two are defensive-minded, yet capable first options on the offensive side of the ball, and both had successful collegiate runs at Duke (Hill’s being more highly decorated, having played four years in college during what was arguably Duke’s best era). Both slot as forwards, with Hill also proving to be a capable ball handler and apt shooting guard – and this is where MacMahon’s comments become very interesting.
Following the initial comparison, which was something of a “eureka!” moment in its own right, MacMahon continues by saying Kidd envisions a point-forward role for Flagg, in which he will have the ball in his hands often. There is a LOT to speculate on if this proves to be the case.
The obvious glut at the forward position is solved quickly if Flagg doesn’t exclusively play in the front court. At the same time, the major lack of guard depth is mitigated if Flagg is setting up the offense and distributing. Suddenly the Mavs desire to not trade P.J. Washington (or Daniel Gafford) makes a ton of sense. If – and it is a yet-to-be-seen, big “if” – Flagg ends up starting as a two-guard (something that will have to be navigated with Klay Thompson), the Mavs would roll out a huge lineup with defensive stalwarts manning at least four of the five positions. Some would argue that Flagg covering the opposing shooting guard limits his best defensive qualities, but for the sake of argument, consider that he wouldn’t necessarily need to match up accordingly. Presumably starting alongside Washington, the Mavs would be versatile enough to match up in the most favorable way game to game. This arrangement would also allow the Mavs to consider more conservative moves as they await the return of Kyrie Irving. Perhaps Chris Paul, rather than someone like Jrue Holiday, fits the bill at point guard – a veteran presence that likely costs no tangible assets would serve the Mavs well.
Coming back to the Hill comparison, the Mavs could certainly do a lot worse. While Hill’s career numbers don’t jump off the page, it should be noted that he essentially had two NBA careers separated by a long string of recurring injuries. In the first, he was a veritable iron man for five-plus seasons, winning Co-Rookie of the Year (ironically sharing the award with Kidd), being named an All-Star multiple times and garnering MVP votes while registering his highest points per game average at 25.8 in 1999-2000. The second followed four years of injury-plagued seasons that nearly ended his playing time altogether. He amazingly put together a solid run from age 34 to 40 before retiring. While not the same player he was pre-injury, he remained more than capable, even netting enough Defensive Player of the Year votes in 2010-2011 to find himself in seventh place in that category – this at the age of 38! If Flagg proves to be what Hill “should have” been (and let’s all hope Flagg never comes within an astronomical unit of Hill’s injuries), Mavs fans should be in for a real treat.
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