- 23 hours ago
Michael Finley joined K&C Masterpiece to give an inside look at the Mavericks. He discussed Cooper Flagg, and more!
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00:00Hello, Interim General Manager. It is Michael Finley. Good afternoon, sir.
00:07Good afternoon, guys. How are you doing?
00:09Man, we're doing great, and I'm going to be even doing greater, if that's a sentence,
00:14if you can tell me that Cooper Flagg is going to play tonight.
00:21That's the plan right now. I think it's still a game-time decision,
00:25but he looked good in his workouts yesterday. He looked good earlier today,
00:31so we're keeping our fingers crossed that he could come back and give us some minutes tonight.
00:37Michael, I have a huge love for you. He's one of my favorite Mavericks of all time.
00:42Kevin, you have to understand his affinity for Cooper Flagg. Kevin is a very big Duke fan.
00:48That's true.
00:48So he's always concerned and wants to know more about how Cooper Flagg's doing.
00:54Well, welcome to the club. I mean, I can see why someone would be excited to be on that guy's
01:02bandwagon
01:03because, like you guys know, Cooper's a great guy, great kid, a great talent,
01:08so to be a fan of his, I'm not mad at you.
01:12Now, I did see Max Christie recently say that the ceiling for Flagg is non-existent.
01:18Wow.
01:18I feel like every player has a ceiling, but is there just kind of every time y'all think,
01:23oh, there is a way to cap this guy, he kind of, he takes it to another place?
01:28Well, I can see what Max Christie is saying there because when you come across a talent like Cooper,
01:34you don't want to put a ceiling on him because, you know, his greatness can be what he makes him.
01:41And by that, I mean the guy has a work ethic like none like I've ever seen.
01:46And on top of that work ethic, he has an unbelievable talent.
01:50So if he keeps combining those two things year after year, the sky's the limit.
01:56And in years to come, we don't know what that ceiling looks like,
02:01but he's a very unique talent, very good kid, and I'm just glad to be witnessing this.
02:07How cool is it when some of the luminaries and, you know, architects of this franchise
02:13and this organization are saying the same thing?
02:16You know, we had Rolando Blackman on before his bobblehead night,
02:19and that was the first thing he said without even being asked about it.
02:23He goes, Cooper Flagg is legit.
02:25So how cool is it to hear, like, the greats of this franchise being really excited for this kid as
02:31well?
02:33Well, it's a good thing.
02:34It's a testament to the kid.
02:36It's a testament to his parents.
02:38It's everything that, you know, you heard about from afar when he was playing at Duke
02:45and when he had his successes against the USA team as a collegian or even in high school.
02:53To see it firsthand, he was like, yeah, this kid's the real deal.
02:56You know, some of the guys in the past don't live up to the hype or it's just a minute
03:04of success.
03:05But with this kid, you see it.
03:07And the kid is humble.
03:08He likes to work.
03:11And all the guys around him likes him.
03:14So that's a good combination.
03:16So, you know, to hear guys like Roe and Derek Harper and Dirk and those guys talk about the essence
03:23and the potential of this guy to be one of the greats, it's a good thing.
03:29Michael Finley joining us here on the KNC Masterpiece on 105.3 The Fan.
03:33We always love team building and trying to make sure we're, you know, putting the right pieces together.
03:37And when you, unfortunately, this team is kind of moving in a position where they might be able to get
03:43another young college player to pair up with him.
03:46When you look at how to build around a player like Cooper Flagg, what do you envision as a necessity
03:52for the right player to put next to him for the future?
03:57Yeah, that's a great question.
03:59I think for us in the front office, you know, it's a lot of people that ask us, like,
04:06what are the pieces that you put around Cooper?
04:08I think from our vision, we're trying to put the right pieces with Cooper, you know,
04:14not just people to be around him and give him the ball and Cooper go be great and make us
04:22great.
04:22No, we have to put the right pieces around him that complement his game as well.
04:27I think it's our responsibility in the front office to, you know, identify a core group of young players that
04:34we believe in.
04:35And help build the right system, the right culture, and all those things that you look for in a championship
04:42team.
04:42And if we can do that, we can continue to make Cooper great and continue to hopefully make the Mavericks
04:52team a championship contender.
04:55Well, with that answer in mind, what have you thought about the progression of Max Christie this season?
05:02Because when you describe that player, I know you were talking about potentially the draft, too.
05:06But when you describe that player, man, that sure does sound like Max Christie.
05:11Yeah, I think from my experience in playing in the NBA, and I tell the guys this, in order to
05:20make a team better,
05:21the individuals have to get better themselves.
05:25And that usually happens over the summer.
05:27I witnessed it firsthand.
05:29I saw Dirk make a tremendous jump in his game, but it was because of his summer development.
05:36And watching Max Christie from last year to this year and then coming into training camp, I saw it.
05:42I saw that he improved his body, he improved his game, and all that happened over the summer.
05:49So when you have those type of people on your roster, those type of players, it's a great thing to
05:55have.
05:56It helps build the culture of winning.
05:58It helps build the culture of having a player that you can depend on.
06:03And Max Christie has done that from last year to this year, and I'm just proud of the kid.
06:08When you saw Dirk do that, was that another motivation for you, too, to add to your game?
06:15Yeah, I mean, when I saw Dirk from when he was the last man on the bench, like Nelly didn't
06:23play,
06:24didn't start on some games, to the Hall of Famer that a lot of people are seeing now.
06:29But I always saw the drive and the determination that he had to be great.
06:35Like, he had this determination, like, I have to continue to work hard.
06:42Okay, coach is not playing me as much as I want.
06:44Okay, I'm going to work even harder.
06:47And I saw it.
06:48And it was very evident when he came back the following summer that his confidence had grown.
06:57He had more belief in what he can bring to the game.
07:01And when you can see that in the great ones, I mean, it's a tremendous thing.
07:06And, yes, it challenges not only me as a teammate, but it challenges everybody around him.
07:12Because if the best on your team is willing to put in the effort to be better, then, hey, we
07:19got to get it in gear if we want to be a winner.
07:21And that's what happened with me and Dirk and that team.
07:25And, Kevin, that sounds like Cooper's the try-hardest also, as well as talented as he is.
07:31When it comes to we are fans, we're big fans of Ryan Nembhard, what is it that you like about
07:37Nembhard so much?
07:40Well, I'm a fan of the underdog, right?
07:45I'm a fan of the guys who have to make it to the NBA the untraditional way.
07:52And Ryan is a firm example of that.
07:56Went undrafted, didn't hang his head, but said, hey, if I got to.
08:01You know, get a two-way or play a little, some minutes in the G League in order to make
08:07a name for myself, I'm going to do that.
08:09And Ryan has done that.
08:11He's in the gym.
08:12He's working on his game.
08:14He's had spot minutes with us early with the Mavericks.
08:18But then he took advantage of those minutes.
08:20And you have to tip your hat to a guy like that who's, when given the opportunity, he made the
08:24most of it.
08:25And because of that, we want to keep Ryan around.
08:28We like guys like that, guys who are willing to work hard, put the team first.
08:33So that's why we were able to assign him to be around a little bit more.
08:39And hopefully he can continue to grow into the player that we think he's capable of being.
08:43You know, we have had Ryan Nembhard and both Max Christie on the show this year and now you.
08:49The only person we haven't had is Cooper Flagg, though.
08:51So if you want to put in a good word for us, we would really appreciate that.
08:56You know what?
08:57When I see him tonight, I'm going to say, Cooper, I got the perfect guys for you to talk to.
09:02Hell yeah!
09:04For one, you have one of the biggest Duke fans.
09:07And hey, I got you guys.
09:09Let me talk to him tonight when I see him.
09:11And I can provide the evidence.
09:14My wife and I flew up to New Jersey to go to the East Regionals last year.
09:18All right, so I'm not kidding about that.
09:20Now, we've talked about a lot of younger players, but, you know, an older player, Chris Middleton,
09:27he's talked about how being with the Mavs gives him a good opportunity, sets him up nicely for free agency.
09:33Could you see a scenario, because you can't have just young players,
09:37where Middleton stays in Dallas and continues to contribute beyond this season?
09:44Yeah, I think if you look at the championship teams of the past, or the contenders at least,
09:51you know, even though your better players may be the young guns on the team,
09:56you've always had that solid vet.
09:58That vet where he came to work every day, he didn't complain about whether he played 5 minutes,
10:0510 minutes, no minutes, 40 minutes, but he was the consummate pro.
10:10And I think in going forward with our roster, we need guys like that.
10:14And Chris, you know, definitely fits that mold.
10:17And I think we would love to have him back.
10:20I know it's a decision that he will have to decide with him and his family,
10:25because I think he'll have a lot of options out there.
10:28But, yeah, we would love to have a guy like Chris back, because he's that consummate pro,
10:33a guy who's been an all-star, who's won on the big stage, and who knows what it takes.
10:42And, you know, you need those type of guys so our young guys can lean on for, you know,
10:47veteran leadership on and off the court.
10:50And Chris definitely fits that mindset that we're looking for in veteran leadership.
10:56You know, there's been a lot of discussion this year about tanking,
11:02and I know the idea that is I'm sure these franchises would say they're trying to win,
11:07but right now the bottom 10 teams in the NBA have lost 44 games in a row.
11:12Do you think the idea of tanking, intentionally losing, however you want to put it,
11:17is in fact a systematic NBA problem?
11:20And if so, what can be done about that?
11:24Yeah, I think tanking is a big problem.
11:28You know, I think a lot of these teams try to outthink the system, so to speak.
11:39But I think in the future, I think Mr. Silver, the commissioner,
11:45is going to start punishing teams that he thinks is tanking.
11:50And I think because of that, hopefully teams will stop.
11:55But if you look historically, you know, the teams that had the worst pick,
12:00I mean the worst record, hasn't gotten the first pick.
12:04So it doesn't really work if you're looking at it like that.
12:08But, you know, the fact that some of these teams are losing on purpose,
12:13as a former player, is just tough to watch.
12:16And as a fan, I get it that you can be disappointed in seeing that.
12:21But, you know, hopefully we can change this, we'll change that narrative in the near future.
12:27Well, and you're just talking about that narrative and some of the struggles that the Mavericks have had,
12:32particularly since like the last week of January.
12:35What would you like to see from the team, not just tonight, but, you know, tomorrow,
12:40looks like maybe Jason Tatum is going to be back for that Celtics game.
12:44But what would you like to see from the team during this road trip
12:47to hopefully show you some more of that progression once again?
12:52Well, I think you've seen it.
12:55I mean, we're just trying to compete each and every night,
13:00give ourselves the best chance to win those ballgames.
13:03And the guys that are out there, they're playing their butts off.
13:07Unfortunately, we've had the injury bug longer than expected.
13:11So our roster has been limited.
13:14But the guys that we're putting out there, we're trying to win.
13:18I mean, I think we have the most clutch games in the league right now.
13:23That's just a testament to Coach Kidd and what he's trying to get through to these kids
13:28that, you know, we have to win these ballgames.
13:31You know, we want to win.
13:32Although we're coming up short, you know, winning is a mindset.
13:36Even though we're losing these games, we don't want our players for this culture to get comfortable with losing.
13:44So each and every game, we're going out there and we're trying to win.
13:47So hopefully, down the stretch, we can continue to put ourselves in the best position to win these ballgames,
13:53stay competitive, and just have fun out there.
13:56And at the end of the day, when it's our time to shine and be on top, we can look
14:02back at these dog days
14:03and appreciate them even more.
14:06So I'm looking forward to the good days.
14:09Yeah, and us too.
14:10Like, that's really what we're excited about too.
14:12We've been Mavericks fans our entire lives.
14:14So it's all we really know.
14:16And that's all we're looking forward to.
14:17That part of the vision of the team and the look, because people talk about how the games change so
14:24much.
14:24What do you want this team to look like?
14:28Do you want it to just be a bunch of three-point shooters?
14:31Do you want it to be a bunch of dogs?
14:33Like, what exactly is your, like, ideal version of this group?
14:39In a dream scenario, if I was a chemist or a scientist, I would mix all those things you just
14:47said
14:47and put them in a bowl and have every player be like that, you know?
14:51Have every player be an ultimate three-point shooter, a great defender.
14:56But, you know, we can't control those things.
14:58What we can't control is players that play hard, players that love to play the game,
15:06players that are dependable night in and night out.
15:09And I think that's the type of roster we're trying to put together.
15:13Yeah, we want talented players too.
15:15We would love to have, you know, more three-point shooting.
15:18Yeah, exactly.
15:19We would love to have, you know, even more better defenders, yes.
15:24But at the end of the day, if we can get that on top of guys who love to play
15:29the game,
15:30who, as a fan, you can see that each and every night these guys are trying to win.
15:34These guys are competitive.
15:37That's what drives the excitement, not only as a fan, but as management.
15:42Because at the end of the day, if you keep putting in the effort,
15:46keep putting in that type of work, success will come.
15:50It might not come as early or as soon as some would want it,
15:53but at the end of the day, it will come.
15:55Just have to be a little bit patient.
15:58But I'm a firm believer that it will come.
16:01Man, I would love to talk with you any day about this upcoming draft,
16:04but I know you're focused on the season, and I don't want to get you into trouble
16:07giving away any potential secrets right there.
16:10So I'll stay away from that for now.
16:14That conversation, we can have that soon.
16:16But right now, like you said, I really can't comment on those guys.
16:19But I'll just say this draft will be exciting, not only for the Mavericks,
16:24but for the NBA as a whole.
16:25And I'm looking forward to diving into it and hopefully getting a guy that can
16:32fit the mold that I just described previously.
16:35Now, I know we've built up some goodwill throughout this interview,
16:39and hopefully it continues to go that way.
16:41You're not about to cost me Cooper Flagg, are you, Corey?
16:43I know it's been a while, Mr. Finley,
16:46but inquiring minds still want to know what happened to the beer.
16:52Okay.
16:53I'm glad you asked that question because inquiring minds want to know.
16:58But this is the God-honest truth about the beer situation with our former player.
17:06So after the game in Minnesota, we win the Western Conference Championship.
17:13We're on the way to the finals.
17:15I leave the court.
17:18I see number 77 standing over there having a beer.
17:23And I say, congratulations, young fellow.
17:26You definitely deserve that beer.
17:28And he's like, thanks, fan.
17:30Thanks.
17:31I leave him.
17:32I go in the locker room.
17:34I celebrate with the rest of the team.
17:35We're having a great time.
17:37Champagne's being popped.
17:39Pictures are being taken.
17:40And we're having a jolly old time.
17:42And I come out of the locker room.
17:44And our social media department is frozen.
17:49I'm like, what's going on, guys?
17:50What's wrong?
17:51They said, we want to take a picture of Luca and his dad.
17:56I said, well, take the picture.
17:58You guys are great at it.
17:59Take the picture.
18:00They said, but Luca's holding a beer.
18:02He's drinking a beer.
18:03I said, well, go take the beer from him.
18:06They said, what?
18:07We can't do that.
18:08I said, okay, I'll do it.
18:09So, when you watch the video, I go.
18:12I take the beer.
18:13I hug Luca again.
18:15And that's why Luca looked like, man, what are you doing?
18:18We just talked about this.
18:19And you said it was cool.
18:21I take the beer.
18:23He looks at me in an odd way.
18:25They take the picture.
18:26Two minutes later, he comes back.
18:28And I give him the beer.
18:29And we continue to celebrate our win.
18:31A lot of people want to make more of it than it was.
18:35Like you're the fun police.
18:38Yeah, that's not me.
18:40I want that.
18:41Listen, winning in this league is hard.
18:43Yes.
18:47Winning, not only in the regular season, but in the playoffs is hard.
18:51I've been there.
18:52I've done that.
18:52And I don't take it for granted.
18:54And when a guy like Luca or what he had done for the team that season, that series, he deserved
19:01a chance to celebrate.
19:02And I didn't want to take that from him.
19:05But our department wanted to celebrate him as well by publicizing him on our social media outlets without the beer.
19:14So, I was like, hey, let's do this.
19:16And I gave the beer back.
19:18We celebrated in the locker room.
19:19We had a great night, great trip, and went on to the finals.
19:24And, yeah, that's the story.
19:27And that's the whole truth and nothing but the truth, as they say.
19:31What an outstanding way to end the interview.
19:36Yeah, my co-host was so excited to talk to you.
19:39We love you, Michael Finley.
19:41Thank you very much for jumping on with the show today and giving us all that information.
19:47Well, guys, look, I really enjoy this.
19:49And let's do it again.
19:51I mean, I like for the fans and yourself to get a chance to see what we're thinking or our
19:58mindset on some of the stuff that, you know, people might like or don't like.
20:03But to hear from the horse's mouth, so to speak, I think it does wonders for not only for the
20:08organization but the fans of Dallas.
20:09So, hey, let's do it again.
20:11Just let me know when.
20:12Yes, sir.
20:13There you go.
20:13Michael Finley right here on 105.3 The Fan.
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