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Cooper Flagg made some waves when he said he wants "go come back next year" to Duke. Flagg had previously said that he's "living in the present right now", making it little surprise he's enjoying his time at Duke.

However, returning to Duke would come at a significant loss in potential NBA salary. Flagg could stand to lose up to $75 million by delaying his entry to the NBA. This is because he'd then enter the NBA at a more typical age for a first-year player, while delaying starting his NBA years-of-service clock. As it stands, due to reclassifying and graduating high school a year early, Flagg is set to enter the NBA as one of the youngest players.

Despite making millions in NIL deals at Duke, it's unlikely the talented freshman is touching anything near $75 million. That's why most expect Flagg to enter the 2025 NBA Draft. And one Eastern Conference scout put it best: "I can't remember a No. 1 pick deciding to go back to school."

Via Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo/ESPN

one Eastern Conference scout put it best: "I can't remember a No. 1 pick deciding to go back to school."

Tim Duncan could of potentially been number 1 in the 1996 draft

I know this is football and not basketball, but it does happen. Peyton Manning did it.

the difference between spending a decade in Charlotte or New Orleans compared to just about any other market is probably considerably more than $75 mil (or rather the difference between $75 mil and whatever he makes in NIL) in endorsements and career success potential. luckily for him the withdrawal date is after the lottery

dubbmotta wrote:one Eastern Conference scout put it best: "I can't remember a No. 1 pick deciding to go back to school."

Tim Duncan could of potentially been number 1 in the 1996 draft

It’s a scout who said, might be some 20 something yr old that was born way after 1996 so his statement makes sense that he wouldn’t remember that.

He’s not coming back, don’t kid yourself.

KembaWalker wrote:the difference between spending a decade in Charlotte or New Orleans compared to just about any other market is probably considerably more than $75 mil (or rather the difference between $75 mil and whatever he makes in NIL) in endorsements and career success potential. luckily for him the withdrawal date is after the lottery

That's a good point

It‘s all about the benjamins

dubbmotta wrote:one Eastern Conference scout put it best: "I can't remember a No. 1 pick deciding to go back to school."

Tim Duncan could of potentially been number 1 in the 1996 draft

Same with Joakim Noah. Had the potential to be #1 in 2006 but decided to go back to school

dubbmotta wrote:one Eastern Conference scout put it best: "I can't remember a No. 1 pick deciding to go back to school."

Tim Duncan could of potentially been number 1 in the 1996 draft

Duncan absolutely would have been number one way over Iverson in '96.

Still pissed the Sixers got hosed there. No good reason Duncan returned to Wake.

It's not been done in the one and done era, but, between 1975 and late 1990's, it wasn't unusual. Sampson did it 3 times, after his FR, SO and JR years. Oden said through his recruitment and until after his only season that he came to OSU for 4 years, only to reconsider. I imagine the Flagg stuff is just talk to build his brand. Many fans still believe there is some virtue to staying in school. 75 mm is based on assumptions which may or may come to pass. The best reason to go now is not career earnings if all goes well (and he's continually maxed), it's career earnings if things don't go well (injury or underperformance).

I hope he returns to Duke, that would be so funny for the teams trying to tank for him like Utah.

He's already very rich, and college years are fleeting and priceless - you can't just go back later, it's not the same.

Hopefully the new rules about paying college players will lead to the best players staying in school longer and gaining better fundamentals, instead of trying to learn on the job as a pro.

the_process wrote:

dubbmotta wrote:one Eastern Conference scout put it best: "I can't remember a No. 1 pick deciding to go back to school."

Tim Duncan could of potentially been number 1 in the 1996 draft

Duncan absolutely would have been number one way over Iverson in '96.

Still pissed the Sixers got hosed there. No good reason Duncan returned to Wake.

If I had to guess, the reason for that was because Duncan's Mom made him promise her that he'd graduate from college before she died right before Duncan's 14th birthday. For Tim, he didn't want to break that promise and leaving early would've made it difficult.

Bk68 wrote:

KembaWalker wrote:the difference between spending a decade in Charlotte or New Orleans compared to just about any other market is probably considerably more than $75 mil (or rather the difference between $75 mil and whatever he makes in NIL) in endorsements and career success potential. luckily for him the withdrawal date is after the lottery

That's a good point

Interesting thing to think about but a) those teams have a very small chance of landing the #1 pick (14%) with new lotto odds and b) I'd guess that it's not actually $75m he'd be losing in marketing etc, nor is there a way to make that a whole lot better.

For one Charlotte is a moderate sized and not small market, and when you consider it's the team for all of central NC it's a pretty good-sized one. It's quite a bit bigger than Cleveland, for example, and we saw how Lebron was able to be a global icon while playing on the Cavs as a younger player. If you don't think Flagg's going to be at that level--or even a step or two below--then the amount of $ he's picking up from endorsements etc doesn't seem like it'll matter that much. Don't think being a pretty good player in Charlotte vs being a pretty good player in say Dallas (a top-5 market) is going to make a gigantic difference in $.

If you're saying that he'd lost a lot of $ and prestige because teams like CHA are pretty incompetently run and unlikely to build big time winning teams (or at least relevant ones) around him, that's a decent point. But we've also seen lots of team's FO gets switched up and the team getting better or worse, especially when they have some talent and need to get competent. Don't want to trap them into sucking because they have in the past.

Also if he stays in another year he's still looking at kinda blah teams+markets like NOLA, Charlotte, Portland, etc having the best chances of landing him again. No way for him to get himself to a NY or LA.

Twinkie defense wrote:He's already very rich, and college years are fleeting and priceless - you can't just go back later, it's not the same.

Hopefully the new rules about paying college players will lead to the best players staying in school longer and gaining better fundamentals, instead of trying to learn on the job as a pro.

Strikes me as kind of sentimental. It's probably fun to play for a good college team and have the excitement of the tournament and the adoration of a bunch of young well-off kids on campus, but it's also pretty damn cool to be a young millionaire traveling around and competing against your heroes every night in front of thousands in the best facilities in the world. Especially for a guy like Flagg who knows he's already better than his peers and would be playing beneath his level if he came back.

Also think the idea that college coaches teach you better 'fundamentals' than pro staffs can do feels like hopeless old-school uncle talk. Maybe a little insulting to Flagg too, who's been a serious prospect for a long time and working to prep himself for many years.

the_process wrote:

dubbmotta wrote:one Eastern Conference scout put it best: "I can't remember a No. 1 pick deciding to go back to school."

Tim Duncan could of potentially been number 1 in the 1996 draft

Duncan absolutely would have been number one way over Iverson in '96.

Still pissed the Sixers got hosed there. No good reason Duncan returned to Wake.

uhh Raptors got hosed. They werent allowed to draft 1st so Philly got Iverson.

Barcs wrote:I know this is football and not basketball, but it does happen. Peyton Manning did it.

But this isn't football.
.

HotelVitale wrote:

Bk68 wrote:

KembaWalker wrote:the difference between spending a decade in Charlotte or New Orleans compared to just about any other market is probably considerably more than $75 mil (or rather the difference between $75 mil and whatever he makes in NIL) in endorsements and career success potential. luckily for him the withdrawal date is after the lottery

That's a good point

Interesting thing to think about but a) those teams have a very small chance of landing the #1 pick (14%) with new lotto odds and b) I'd guess that it's not actually $75m he'd be losing in marketing etc, nor is there a way to make that a whole lot better.

For one Charlotte is a moderate sized and not small market, and when you consider it's the team for all of central NC it's a pretty good-sized one. It's quite a bit bigger than Cleveland, for example, and we saw how Lebron was able to be a global icon while playing on the Cavs as a younger player. If you don't think Flagg's going to be at that level--or even a step or two below--then the amount of $ he's picking up from endorsements etc doesn't seem like it'll matter that much. Don't think being a pretty good player in Charlotte vs being a pretty good player in say Dallas (a top-5 market) is going to make a gigantic difference in $.

If you're saying that he'd lost a lot of $ and prestige because teams like CHA are pretty incompetently run and unlikely to build big time winning teams (or at least relevant ones) around him, that's a decent point. But we've also seen lots of team's FO gets switched up and the team getting better or worse, especially when they have some talent and need to get competent. Don't want to trap them into sucking because they have in the past.

Also if he stays in another year he's still looking at kinda blah teams+markets like NOLA, Charlotte, Portland, etc having the best chances of landing him again. No way for him to get himself to a NY or LA.

He's not LeBron. The comparison would be someone like Tatum. How much more money has Tatum made in endorsements by being on a perennial contender vs if he was in Charlotte surrounded by junk? Obviously being in a premier market helps, which isn't likely for Flagg regardless of when he comes out, but there is real value in being on competitive teams in playoff spotlight. With that said, who knows if the options will be any better next year. So likely he'll still come out.

Barcs wrote:I know this is football and not basketball, but it does happen. Peyton Manning did it.

To avoid playing with the NYJ right after Parcells signed with the team in February of 1998. Would have been interesting seeing those two paired together. Doubt he ever leaves for DAL