(11-04-2025, 02:20 AM)Mavs2021 Wrote: They cannot afford to bench Flagg during home games. Place would riot. Might as well play him in away games too, since the season is over anyway.

(11-04-2025, 02:20 AM)Mavs2021 Wrote: They cannot afford to bench Flagg during home games. Place would riot. Might as well play him in away games too, since the season is over anyway.

(11-04-2025, 08:03 AM)Chicagojk Wrote: Just a quick glance, but not sure that Houston team is a top 3 team.  They have a ton of ways to get better by trade or internal development but I think they may be missing something.

(11-04-2025, 04:29 AM)WillE Wrote: Kidd's priority is to improve Flagg and I fully support to provide him with this experience even though it costs W's. From this perspective we are actually lucky that Kyrie & Co. are currently out, because therefore nobody is currently expecting too much anyway and Flagg can simply go through this learning process.

This approach also explains a lot of other topics. For example why Klay is still starting. He is the floor spacer for Flagg. Or why DLo is not starting. 

Flagg development is currently just more valuable than trying to win all games, as these chances are limited anyway.

(11-04-2025, 08:03 AM)Chicagojk Wrote: Just a quick glance, but not sure that Houston team is a top 3 team.  They have a ton of ways to get better by trade or internal development but I think they may be missing something.

(11-04-2025, 10:27 AM)mvossman Wrote: I don't think playing Flagg without a PG on the floor has any positive benefit for Flagg development.  I think he will be way better off when Kyrie comes back.  Flagg is a connector and operates much better with a functioning offense.  He is not an offensive hub, and that is not going to change just because you put him in a position to fail.

(11-04-2025, 01:37 PM)WillE Wrote: https://dallashoopsjournal.com/p/kevin-durant-cooper-flagg-potential-dallas-mavericks-houston-rockets-nba-news/

"At Duke, Flagg was a 6-foot-9 do-it-all forward who could rebound, block shots, and ignite transition offense. In Dallas, head coach Jason Kidd and general manager Nico Harrison are challenging him to evolve into a more guard-oriented role — initiating offense, creating reads, and defending on the perimeter.
It’s a demanding transition, one Durant himself once faced.
Reflecting on his own journey, Durant recalled his time at the University of Texas, where he thrived in the mid-post, attacking slower defenders and controlling the glass. But in the NBA, the Seattle SuperSonics and Oklahoma City Thunder asked him to play shooting guard — requiring him to defend quicker players, create off the dribble, and master spacing on the perimeter.
“I hate to inject myself into his [situation],” Durant admitted. “But I came in college playing four, five. I came to the league playing a two. So it’s like position changes like that can really throw you off early on in your career, but I think he’s still working through it and having some good games, you know?”

(11-04-2025, 01:37 PM)WillE Wrote: https://dallashoopsjournal.com/p/kevin-durant-cooper-flagg-potential-dallas-mavericks-houston-rockets-nba-news/

"At Duke, Flagg was a 6-foot-9 do-it-all forward who could rebound, block shots, and ignite transition offense. In Dallas, head coach Jason Kidd and general manager Nico Harrison are challenging him to evolve into a more guard-oriented role — initiating offense, creating reads, and defending on the perimeter.
It’s a demanding transition, one Durant himself once faced.
Reflecting on his own journey, Durant recalled his time at the University of Texas, where he thrived in the mid-post, attacking slower defenders and controlling the glass. But in the NBA, the Seattle SuperSonics and Oklahoma City Thunder asked him to play shooting guard — requiring him to defend quicker players, create off the dribble, and master spacing on the perimeter.
“I hate to inject myself into his [situation],” Durant admitted. “But I came in college playing four, five. I came to the league playing a two. So it’s like position changes like that can really throw you off early on in your career, but I think he’s still working through it and having some good games, you know?”

(11-04-2025, 01:53 PM)mvossman Wrote: I don't think Durant is a good comp for Flagg and I don't think his long term position is going to be at guard.  I think he is still trying to adjust to the NBA game and I don't see playing him out of position as helping that process.  My concern is this is more about trying to compensate for roster construction imbalances than player development.

(11-04-2025, 02:14 PM)WillE Wrote: No one campered Flagg to Durant.

And I wouldn't even say Kidd & Co. necessarily think his "long term position" is at guard, but I'm sure they are convinced putting him through this ultimately helps him become the best version of himself.

So I guess we have to agree to disagree on this.

And with this about the reasoning: I am sure that Kidd would play Flagg like this in most rosters regardless. Because he believes it is the best for his soon to be best player.

...aaand he did the same already with Giannis...

(11-04-2025, 10:29 AM)mvossman Wrote: They are definitely missing Vanvleet.  That was a gut punch loss for them after they just went all in on Durant.

(11-05-2025, 09:18 AM)HoosierDaddyKid Wrote: https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1ooboyn/klay_thompson_was_very_upset_as_he_left_the_court/


Klay was upset after the loss to Houston.

(11-04-2025, 02:57 PM)mvossman Wrote: Whether you want to call it a comp or not, I don't think what might have been good development for Durant or Giannis is necessarily good development for Flagg.  I don't think Kidd would play Flagg like this on this roster if healthy.  He would obviously start Kyrie if able.  I agree that we will have to agree to disagree.

(11-05-2025, 06:39 PM)WillE Wrote: Everybody can have their own opinion...my agrument for this being a good learning experience is that it puts him into new situations that require diffenrent skills than in college. Improving these exact skills exact will help him transition to the NBA competition.

We'll see what Kidd does with Flagg one Kyrie returns, but there should still be enough games until then. So my thinking on this was that for Flagg Kyrie's injury at least opened the opportunity for him to further develop his guard skills. Take the good with the bad.