Heat legend Udonis Haslem shockingly overlooks Cooper Flagg as a franchise cornerstone, sparking debate with his surprising rookie comparison.
The Dallas Mavericks drafted a player who could be one of the future faces of the NBA with the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, and Cooper Flagg has been living up to those expectations so far this season.
He was one of the most highly touted prospects in recent memory leading up to the time his name was called.
But some people do not seen to be the biggest fan of his for some strange reason.
Udonis Haslem won three championships with the Miami Heat over the 20 years that he was there, so needless to say he is respected by many in the NBA world. But he recently had a pretty wild take that is pretty likely to make Dallas fans not very happy with him.
When asked who he would choose to start a franchise with as far as rookies go, he did not choose Cooper Flagg and instead went with Philadelphia 76ers' VJ Edgecombe. And while everyone is entitled to their own opinion, he did a bit of Flagg slandering in the process.
"I know Cooper is doing his thing, I know Kon is doing his thing...VJ out of all these guys he is the two-way guy. This guy impacts the game regardless if the basketball is in his hands. If I'm starting a team, I'm starting my team with a two-way guy"
Now I'm no expert, but being a phenomenal two-way player is exactly the reason why so many people were so high on Flagg coming out of Monteverde Academy and Duke.
And while Edgecombe is a fantastic player, he is not the current favorite to win Rookie of the Year.
Cooper Flagg is.
The 19-year-old phenom is averaging just under 20 points, six rebounds, four assists, and a steal per game. He has also been showing his defensive versatility by guarding virtually every single position on the floor in any given game.
And Haslem says that he's not a two-way player.
Dallas might not be the powerhouse that they could be if all of their players were healthy, but Flagg is showing that the team made the right decision when they drafted him first overall.