08-26-2025, 10:33 AM
(08-26-2025, 10:23 AM)KillerLeft Wrote: This is kind of where I am with it, too, but for me it's just as much about his age (and the fact that he's just gotten his golden parachute) as the injury. I guess the question is: to what extent will we notice a drop-off, and how quickly? Hopefully it will be a mild, slowly progressing drop-off, but I think it's only prudent to plan for the idea that he's about to begin a decline of some kind.
Even without the age or injury, I don't think he's right for the role of "primary playmaker," nor was he ever, imho. His legend was born from an era in which he played next to LeBron James, and his strong play here came while playing with Luka. I'm skeptical about him as a PG, basically. I think he's much, much better as a secondary playmaker (his off-ball movement skills and IQ are his most underrated skill) and as an iso player in situations where his matchup is favorable (which will be far less frequent if he's the primary ball-handler).
If I KNEW Flagg was on a trajectory to play on-ball a lot, like Luka (but differently, of course), then I might have more hope for "window 1," and even without that knowledge I'm more hopeful than some, but I won't truly take this team seriously until we see that reality on the court or until a replacement for Luka is added. Part of me still thinks the best version of Flagg will end up being almost exclusively off-ball, and while that's more than ok with me, it does leave a sizable hole in how this roster is built.
Yeah I really should have mentioned age in my post
Id have more hope for a full bounce back if he was mid 20s and had 2 years to fully recover.
Even if fully healthy I would have expected a noticable drop off from 32 to 35 for a player of his size and style