Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green had a fairly strong reaction to the Dallas Mavericks’ decision to shut Cooper Flagg down for their final two Summer League games.
Green called out fans that criticize players for sitting out regular season games for load management reasons. Green did not mention Flagg by name, but questioned why the No. 1 overall pick was not getting similar treatment.
“I find it very interesting that players get bashed for ‘load management’ but rookies get shut down during summer league these days,” Green wrote. “Fascinating eh?”
After someone argued that playing Flagg in a Summer League game was an unnecessary risk, Green responded by making it clear he was not blaming Flagg.
“But a regular season game on a soft Tuesday in January matters for a players. Seems like the equivalent to me,” Green said. “And also you missed half the point. MOST TEAMS make those decisions. It’s rarely the player.”
There is not really an equivalent between a Summer League game and a regular season game. Flagg could get more experience, but the team record does not really matter.
Flagg only played two Summer League games before the Mavericks pulled the plug on the rookie. One could argue that Flagg might have benefitted from a few more games, but despite what Green says, the risks are much greater in letting him continue to play.
