An overrated legend? Flag s success or failure?

At the moment Doncic left the Mavericks, it broke thousands of fans and surprised many media. But what is even more shocking is that at the beginning of the Mavericks' reconstruction cycle, he directly selected Cooper Flag, the new-generation American basketball team, with a high pick in the first round.

This 18-year-old wing killer was once known as a defensive James, white Leonard, and comprehensive Durant in scout reports. Of course, these expectations still need to be verified, but what is certain is that Flag is a player in the genius column, but before the final result appears, the Mavericks still need to face a realistic enough question:

Will he really be the future answer of the Mavericks? Or is this just a self-enthusiastic gamble?

After Doncic led the team for many years without success, the Mavericks chose to push them back. Instead, they chose to make a big move from the free market, but chose to hand over the key to the future to a young player who had not played in a game. What does this choice mean?

The first change that was hit is certain that the Mavericks will move towards a new beginning in the next stage around defense as the core. They no longer pursue a high-use ball core, but create a new team that is multi-point blooming and system-oriented. All the Mavericks' development patience and investment resources will be bet on Flag's development line.

This sudden team building model is actually quite rare in the NBA. The only thing that can be remembered is perhaps the Spurs' layout for Leonard in 2013, but Leonard is surrounded by Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili. In comparison, Flag was a little lacking at the beginning, although he also has Davis, seniors like Irving, Clay, etc.

The advantage of this super newcomer is not obvious compared to the star level. After all, Dallas is not short of star players, and Flag's initial advantage may be precisely to make the game no longer rely on super stars. Beside Davis, Irving and Clay, the newcomer Flag may not be the one with the best offensive scores, but he has several championship teams that are quite scarce to be advantageous:

has a wide range of defense, from the second position to the fourth position, his defense range is his strongest echelon, defensive reading and assisted defense judgment are the strongest echelons of rookies;

excellent tactical learning ability and rich offensive arsenal, he can become the core decision-making point of the team's offense;

does not occupy the ball rights, and can improve the team's operating efficiency without the ball.

From the above advantages, he can play without the ball, push conversions, organize team defense, and rely on defense to transition to offense. He is not the traditional data streaming player, but he may still be the most indispensable key puzzle in the winning system. But before all the potential advantages are realized, Flag's success depends on a key question: what lineup partners can the Mavericks have with him?

Combined with the content of the game before entering the league, under Flag's comprehensive traits, it is destined to be difficult for him to become a single-type single-player star. The Mavericks are currently actively strengthening the backcourt lineup in the free market and signing free agent Russell to fill the point guard vacancy, especially when Irving misses most or even all the games in the new season due to a torn ligament, Russell is likely to become a key role in the team's backcourt in the new season.

While strengthening the backcourt, the Mavericks also showed enough confidence in the future in the face of the seriously injured Irving. They had previously signed a three-year, 119 million contract extension with him, providing stable rotation guarantees for the team's long-term combat effectiveness.

If the Mavericks can use Russell as a stable ball holding point, and pair it with pick-and-roll inside lines like Lively, as well as shooters who are willing to run on the outside and are good at space pulling, then Flag has a chance to revitalize the team outside the ball holding end. But if the Mavericks are not able to integrate an efficient lineup, they cannot get the chemistry of the new lineup. Then Flag's comprehensive offensive style is likely to face some misunderstandings in the early stage, and even deviate from the expected role fans expect him to become the team's offense and defense.

This is also Flag's biggest question in the future. Will he be the next James, the next Leonard, or, or, just the next Herbert Jones? This type of talented newcomer with a defensive foundation is often easily placed in high expectations in the early stages, but the key is which one will Cooper Flag go in the end?

From the current situation, Flag's future development upper and lower limits are still fluctuating greatly. According to expectations, we can basically divide his future development template into three levels:

minimum and lower limit: Herbert Jones (defensive efficiency is full, but the offensive shortcomings are obvious)

Reasonable template: Scott Pippen (top second-in-command, multi-functional winger)

Maximum upper limit: Zhandu 2+1? (Stable firepower on the outside, top team vision)

looks a little outrageous, but this can basically summarize his comprehensive development route, but if the team configuration and development are imbalanced in the future, Flag may also become the next Iguodaro, Isaac, or even Ben Simmons.

Finally, although Flag is an opportunity for the Mavericks, it is also a big bet. Compared with those high-coupled rookies who used to evaluate success or failure with high scores, it is difficult for Flag to judge just by scoring averages. It depends more on whether he can change the way this team plays by himself.

For the Mavericks, they did get Flag, but before that they had paid a Doncic. Compared with Doncic, what the Mavericks need now is no longer the next Doncic. What they need is a new team leader who can establish a defensive system and run-in the team's tactical culture.