01-04-2026, 10:35 PM
(01-04-2026, 09:19 PM)Winter Wrote: I'm not really disagreeing with this as a whole, but this last sentence struck me funny.
What does "work" mean in that context? I never once thought Kidd was trying to make something "work" in the context of winning games. I rather thought the opposite. That Kidd was possibly sacrificing games for 1. lack of a first-rate PG and 2. And giving Flagg the steering wheel just to test drive.
Without a working Dlo at PG, why not? They weren't going to competitive without a PG (BWill had that hamstring injury and Nembhard was too raw at the time). Do I think Kidd was not wanting to play Nico-ball before the Front-office fired him? Probably. Did Kidd have his own agenda? Probably. Did it include not playing DLo? Maybe. But that was an easy call since the roster was so flawed. I mean why not? If you're going to lose games, make it educational for Flagg's development.
I don't think any of this has a right or wrong answer. I think Kidd just took the opportunity to coach Flagg that way given a bad roster. Kidd made a choice on how he saw the team and how he saw Flagg. I don't mind that he did it that way. I would just as soon not have 6-9 more wins anyway.
Of course we don't know what Flagg actually gained. That part is unknown. But we do know these Mavericks were not a competitive playoff team with those PG issues. So for me personally, I don't care. It's water under the bridge. Let's see if we can draft Flagg a good teammate.
I mean the OP argued that it "worked" because they won the game. I'm skeptical that this organization is currently trying to lose games, and from the context of winning games it obviously does not work, even considering last nights outcome.
As for the development angle, I really don't see Flagg as the next Giannis. I think he will always be best off ball as a secondary creator. Using last nights game as an example, he had no assists and two turnovers as the "PG" but had 6 assists and no turnovers when playing off ball. My opinion is that he is better off learning the role he will likely be playing in the future in a functional offense than the shitshow we see when there is no legit PG on the court.