New Mavericks coach sounds off on star rookie Cooper Flagg

The Mavericks clearly lucked out when they drafted Cooper Flagg, landing the pick to draft him on a 1.8% chance, and it saved the franchise from being an embarrassment in about three years once Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving age out.

Flagg enters the NBA as one of the most accomplished college freshmen ever, winning the ACC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, National Player of the Year, and a consensus All-American. He was the second youngest first overall pick ever, as he won't turn 19 until December, and is already this good.

Although his first Summer League game was a struggle, he was dominant in the second, scoring 31 points against the San Antonio Spurs. The plan was for him to only play two games, and he showed enough in that second game to prove the Mavericks right, even if he wanted to play a third.

Flagg will likely be the Mavericks' second-most important player behind Anthony Davis until Irving returns. Jason Kidd believes Flagg can be a point forward, so he should have the ball a lot this upcoming season.

The Dallas Mavericks' New Coaching Staff

The Mavericks had bigger changes on their coaching staff this offseason than on their roster. Gone are Sean Sweeney (San Antonio Spurs), Jared Dudley (Denver Nuggets), Alex Jensen (University of Utah), Darrell Armstrong (arrested for aggravated assault), God Shammgod (Orlando Magic), and Marko Milic (own decision).

In their places are Phil Handy, Jay Triano, Frank Vogel, Mike Penberthy, Popeye Jones, and Jordan Sears. Despite the big losses, with most of them getting job upgrades, one could argue that the Mavs' coaching staff actually improved with two former head coaches on the bench.