He’ll get the time if he’s good enough. A lot of times rookies bodies aren’t ready for the NBA grind. LeBron got plenty of playing time his rookie year… I suspect we’ll be seeing around 25-30 minutes a game from Cooper Flagg this year, but you never know. The fact he got shut down in preseason so early to work on his body full time sort of shows he has the skills, they just need to prepare him physically.
Well, it’s understandable, he’s only 18 years old. And although he’s the same age as LeBron was when he got drafted, LeBron was on a whole different level. He had the potential to become one of the greatest players in history right from the start. As for Flagg, let’s give him time to reach his potential. Everything is still new, and the hype hasn’t settled yet. But if he can become as good as Luka offensively before his rookie contract ends and if the Mavs stay healthy, that will definitely boost their chances in the Playoffs.
LeBron, Curry, or Durant all got a pretty good amount of minutes in their debut season in the NBA. Meanwhile, Jokic and Giannis got relatively limited minutes in their first season, but that didn't stop them from becoming great players. I mean, even if Flagg gets a few minutes in his first season, it doesn't mean he won't become an all-star player in the following seasons.