Flagg preseason debut: looking as good as advertised at 18 years old

[JRoy]

Looking like a Young Dirk...except more athletic and smooth. He will be a handful for opponents. This is VERY premature but if Dallas is healthy...WATCHOUT.

Why Dirk? He seems to be much closer to a mix between Kawhi Leonard and Julius Randle. Dirk seems a bit odd; he was a very mobile 7-footer who could shoot. Flagg's strength is not shooting, but rather something he needs to work the most on, but attacking, motor, defense, and some passing. For me, they seem the opposite.

I see a little Lamar Odom in him, but better handles/passing.

[ryguy613]

He scored 10 points in 14 minutes of a preseason game and according to this thread hes a mix of LeBron, Luka, Dirk, Kawhi, and KG. Guys... are you ok?

[ryan in Maine]

Led all Mavs starters in points in the fewest minutes—only Powell played less. 70+ ts% and looked pretty ok offense and defense.

[og15]

Looking like a Young Dirk...except more athletic and smooth. He will be a handful for opponents. This is VERY premature but if Dallas is healthy...WATCHOUT.

Didn't really get anything that reminded me of young Dirk from that, I don't think we have to force a comparison because it's the same team.

[Rainwater]

Been calling this kid the White Lebron for a hot minute now.

All those AK47 or Tatum comparisons were a joke. Only LeBron was this polished coming in.

Yeah, people calling this guy AK47 made no sense. The kid is like a Lebron in the way he plays.

[Rainwater]

Looking like a Young Dirk...except more athletic and smooth. He will be a handful for opponents. This is VERY premature but if Dallas is healthy...WATCHOUT.

Dude plays nothing like Dirk lol. Is it because of his race or because he is a Mav? Lol

[Rainwater]

Gives me modern game Garnett vibes honestly.
Will see if he gets as good as he was.

KG did not have the offensive capability or handle that Flagg has.

[mademan]

Been calling this kid the White Lebron for a hot minute now.

All those AK47 or Tatum comparisons were a joke. Only LeBron was this polished coming in.

Yeah, people calling this guy AK47 made no sense. The kid is like a Lebron in the way he plays.

Not the game breaking athleticism or the handle, but he has a really sweet jumper already (and athletic with a fine handle regardless). Guy will end up a 25ppg 2-way star who very well could be better than Luka in the future. Conspiracy theories aside (i know), getting him honestly sets up the Mavs for a better future outlook than they had. Luka supermax/older Kyrie max/PJ+Gaff paid left the Mavs with a small window in an extremely tough West. Flagg/Lively/Christie is gonna have them battling the Spurs for the next decade with an outside shot the next 2 years if they can get a rare healthy run from Kyrie/AD

Nico really does keep failing upwards.

[Cavsfansince84]

Yeah, this kid is special

Dallas will be in the playoffs if they can stay healthy,as Flagg will be a big net positive contributor right off the gate

He looked even better than advertised

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Bro, if Dallas gets 65+ games from both Kyrie and AD they are gonna compete for the 1 seed. They just need Kyrie to play like a pg.

[NO-KG-AI]

He’s just good at basketball. There really is no reason to overthink his faults or concerns tbh.

[Bob8]

Yeah, this kid is special

Dallas will be in the playoffs if they can stay healthy,as Flagg will be a big net positive contributor right off the gate

He looked even better than advertised

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Bro, if Dallas gets 65+ games from both Kyrie and AD they are gonna compete for the 1 seed. They just need Kyrie to play like a pg.

65+ games from Kyrie?

[SlimShady83]

Yeah, this kid is special

Dallas will be in the playoffs if they can stay healthy,as Flagg will be a big net positive contributor right off the gate

He looked even better than advertised

Sent from my SM-A055F using RealGM mobile app

Bro, if Dallas gets 65+ games from both Kyrie and AD they are gonna compete for the 1 seed. They just need Kyrie to play like a pg.

Someone agrees with me and sees what I'm talking about #1 if healthy viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2471466

[DusterBuster]

Niko did not deserve this bailout.

[Thaddy]

He's going to be the next LeBron. He's probably going to get them into the playoffs and potentially carry them. Nico got lucky but it's working.

[Duke4life831]

I’ve said this before, but he really doesn’t have any major flaw. I’d say his handle is probably his biggest “flaw”, and with that said I’ve been saying from day 1 I’d treat him like a young LeBron/Luka and just give him high usage on ball responsibilities from day 1.

I think he can be a guy in his prime that averages like 8 assists. His vision, passing ability, and willingness to pass is far more than just a “point forward” kind of skill set. And I said his handle is probably his biggest “flaw”. But for a 6’8 18 year old, it’s a damn good handle. That just speaks to how freakishly high the rest of his game is.

Dude is a high level defender (on and off the ball), good rebounder for his position, and shot 38% from 3 (3.5 attempts per game) and 84% from the line. So it’s not like shooting is some major flaw.

Like No-KG-AI said, he’s just good at basketball. It really is as simple as that

[Mephariel]

His game is like Jayson Tatum.

[ChuckChilly]

Looks like Jamal Mashburn on offense, with less handle and higher IQ.

[UcanUwill]

Gives me modern game Garnett vibes honestly.
Will see if he gets as good as he was.

KG did not have the offensive capability or handle that Flagg has.

I don't know, he did IMO. But thats why he said modern version of KG. IF KG was coming along now, he would be shooting 3s and handling the ball more.

KG was my go to comparison for Flagg years back, but back then I still saw Flagg as a bigman. Now he is developing more into a wing player, so Kawhi is probably a better comp now.

[Bob8]

I’ve said this before, but he really doesn’t have any major flaw. I’d say his handle is probably his biggest “flaw”, and with that said I’ve been saying from day 1 I’d treat him like a young LeBron/Luka and just give him high usage on ball responsibilities from day 1.

I think he can be a guy in his prime that averages like 8 assists. His vision, passing ability, and willingness to pass is far more than just a “point forward” kind of skill set. And I said his handle is probably his biggest “flaw”. But for a 6’8 18 year old, it’s a damn good handle. That just speaks to how freakishly high the rest of his game is.

Dude is a high level defender (on and off the ball), good rebounder for his position, and shot 38% from 3 (3.5 attempts per game) and 84% from the line. So it’s not like shooting is some major flaw.

Like No-KG-AI said, he’s just good at basketball. It really is as simple as that

I don't know about LeBron but Luka was already a Pg in Europe before Nba. Being a Pg is not only about having a solid handle. And I would say making that big conclusions about his Pg abilities after playing against OKC's benchwarmers without any kind of defensive system might be a bit too much. Everyone in Mavs looked like having elite vision and passing abilities.

[dirkdiggler4177]

He scored 10 points in 14 minutes of a preseason game and according to this thread hes a mix of LeBron, Luka, Dirk, Kawhi, and KG. Guys... are you ok?

He was also the number one pick; he was playing really well against Team USA at 17, and he has been considered an excellent talent. One of his weaknesses is his ball-handling skills. He went up against Wallace, who is considered one of the better on-ball defenders, and attacked him and did great. Even though it was a pre-season game, everything we have been told so far showed up in those 14 minutes. So making those comparisons is not far-fetched. It would, of course, be very different if he were a second-round pick who had a good game. The game was more of a soft stamp of what is to come.