Mavericks need to pull the plug on Cooper Flagg experiment

The basketball gods rewarded the Dallas Mavericks' generosity almost right away.

Against all odds — and logic — the Mavericks landed the No. 1 pick right after trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Whether NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had anything to do with that is not for us to debate.

Whatever the case, going from one generational talent to the next one is something not many teams can brag about. As such, they need to make sure to put No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg in a position to succeed. That's why, despite what HC Jason Kidd might think, it's time to take the ball out of Flagg's hands. 

Mavs need to stop playing Cooper Flagg at point guard

The Mavericks are rolling with Flagg at point guard while Kyrie Irving works his way back from his ACL injury. That's not what Flagg does best. While he's a willing passer with nice court vision, he's not a floor general, a point forward or someone who can make his teammates better with his passing.

He's an elite wing prospect, and as such, it makes no sense to have him taking the ball up the court. Through three games, he's up to 3.3 assists and 2.6 turnovers per game. And even though he didn't turn the ball over once in the win over the Toronto Raptors, that's not what made him the No. 1 pick.

The Mavs have a proven veteran in D'Angelo Russell and a rookie, pass-first point guard in Ryan Nembhard. Using a generational talent like that is a disservice to Flagg and to the roster. 

Flagg can do a little bit of everything at a very high level, but that doesn't mean that he has to do everything for this team to be good. He needs someone to set him up and give him the ball in his spots to show why everybody was so high on him, dating back to his days in high school.