Two Summer League appearances were enough for Cooper Flagg to showcase his potential to the world. It took him a game to overcome the jitters and adjust to the new environment, but once he did, he looked unstoppable. The Duke product dropped 31 points against the Spurs before he got shut down for remainder of the Summer League. But while the start looked promising, turns out, Cooper did not feel too comfortable on the NBA hardwood!
During a recent interview with ESPN’s Vanessa Richardson, the number 1 pick said it was “exhausting” to handle the ball in his first two games. In his debut against the Lakers, Flagg did everything on the floor, grabbing six rebounds and dishing out four assists. But the responsibility of playmaking seemingly affected his scoring, as he finished with just 10 points on 5 of 21 shooting. Against the Spurs, the rookie fixed his shooting struggles, but his assist count dropped to one. Clearly, handling multiple aspects of the game at once was an issue.
That makes you wonder how Luka Doncic managed to control everything on the floor during his Mavs tenure. In his seven years there, he averaged a nearly 28.6-point triple-double. His versatile offensive production might have been the reason behind his defensive fatigue, that many believe sparked concerns about his conditioning and played a part in Nico Harrison trading him. But Cooper’s confession confirms that its not easy being a floor general while being the primary scoring option on an NBA team.
Cooper Flagg just said it was “exhausting” to handle the ball to ESPN’s Vanessa Richardson
And people really sat there and told me what Luka does and did isn’t exhausting lmao
— Mavs Film Room (@MavsFilmRoom) July 17, 2025
Well, Flagg will gradually adjust to this new setting because as talented as he is, dominating in the NBA is a whole different ball game. Addressing the stark difference from the college environment, the rookie said after his Summer League debut, “It’s just a different game. Different pace, different feel, different spacing. It’s a lot of adjustments, but we’ll be alright.” Once Cooper gets used to the NBA style of basketball, it will become easier to maintain his conditioning and go full throttle for 48 minutes every night. Plus, Kyrie Irving and D’Angelo Russell will be the primary ball handlers on most nights anyway. And the Mavs are looking forward to the time when everything starts clicking, which is why they are not pivoting to the LeBron James pursuit.
Nico Harrison not interested in revamping Mavs roster for LeBron James
As Dallas heads into the Cooper Flagg era, there have also been speculations of a potential LeBron pursuit. Ever since Rich Paul publicly stated that the Lakers star wants to play on a title contender, four teams have reportedly inquired about his availability in the trade market. Reports suggest that Mavericks are one of those teams.
While a LeBron, Anthony Davis, and Kyrie reunion sounds great in theory, it might not be feasible because of LBJ’s $52.6 million salary for next season. Per reports, Lakers do not want to take any contracts that go beyond next season in a Bron trade. And not many teams in the league have expiring contracts to match the four-time champ’s salary, including Dallas.
Even if they did, Nico Harrison “does not have interest in gutting the Mavs roster” in pursuit of the 40-year-old veteran, per The Athletic. Media veteran Kevin Gray Jr. also confirmed that “The Mavericks are not pursuing a trade for LeBron James, one league source told @DLLS_Sports tonight.” Looks like Mavs are focused on going all in with their current roster and have no intention to add LeBron despite the buzzing trade rumors. Do you think that’s the right call by Nico?
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