Southwest Notes: Flagg, Wells, Rockets, Tanke

Most No. 1 picks go to teams that are completely reliant on their transcendent play, but that’s not the case for Cooper Flagg and the Mavericks. That’s something Flagg is excited to take advantage of, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, who notes that the former Duke star referred to it as a “blessing” not to be the immediate centerpiece of a rebuilding franchise.

In his introductory press conference on Friday, Flagg discussed how much he’s looking forward to learning from champions and veterans like Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, and Klay Thompson.

“I’m just looking forward to being a sponge. Just getting down here, I’m excited to just learn, soak it all in, and learn from the guys that are older and have been through it all before,” he said. “Those guys have so much knowledge. They’ve been through so much, and they have so much experience that it’s just going to be an incredible opportunity for me to learn and grow under them.”

Mavericks president of basketball operations Nico Harrison is excited about Flagg’s ability to work as a two-timeline linchpin.

“We’re in win-now mode, and so he adds to that, but he’s also the future of the franchise,” Harrison says.

We have more from the Southwest division:

• Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd is looking forward to taking advantage of Flagg’s impressive versatility, which he says will be tested in summer league, as Kidd plans on possibly using him as a point guard to see what he can do, writes Grant Afseth for Dallas Hoops Journal. “I want to put him at the point guard. I want to make him uncomfortable and see how he reacts,” Kidd says. “It is all right to fail. It is all right to turn the ball over.” Kidd sees Flagg’s development unfolding in a similar manner to how he approached the development of Giannis Antetokounmpo during Kidd’s time as the Bucks’ head coach.
• According to general manager Zach Kleiman, the Grizzlies‘ somewhat unexpected trade of Desmond Bane was influenced in part by contributions from an unexpected source, per Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commerical Appeal (via Twitter). “Jaylen’s emergence was a significant part of it,” Kleiman said of rookie wing Jaylen Wells. After being drafted 39th in the 2024 draft, Wells emerged as a primary wing defender and off-ball shooter, helping stabilize a lineup that was looking for answers at the wing position.
• The Rockets have hired Ryan Tanke as their chief operating officer, writes Danielle Lerner for the Houston Chronicle. Tanke was the COO for the Timberwolves and WNBA affiliate Lynx for the past six years, and had been in the organization for 27 years in total before stepping down as the franchise transitions to a new ownership group. One of his responsibilities in Houston will be overseeing the upcoming renovations to the Toyota Center, which Lerner writes is estimated to require $635MM in maintenance over the next 20 years.