Cooper Flagg

[ShadyMoney]

Lol

If your team hasn’t won a championship in the past 5 years. Your team should be doing everything in it’s power to try to acquire Cooper Flagg

A guy of that magnitude in just a marketing standpoint he will go to a BIG market. Unfortunately the big market teams all have stipulations on why they CANT acquire him.

lol @ thinking the NBA will have him going to a memphis or Hornets team.

[Texas Chuck]

lol @ thinking the NBA will have him going to a memphis or Hornets team.

I know the best prospect since Lebron would never go to a minor market like San Antonio....oh wait....

Zion a hype machine would never go to New Orleans.

Frozen envelopes forever baby

[tsherkin]

Also...scottie barnes averaged ~15ppg in high school. Raw stats aren't the end all be all in HS and college. Guys on stacked teams aren't going to get the shot opportunities to put up gaudy numbers.

Yeah but Barnes isn't a good scorer and was behind the curve as a shooter, while also lacking an elite first step. So it's not surprising that he wasn't a dominant scorer in HS. Or, for that matter, in college. He shot 62% at the line and 27.5% from 3 in college. Dude did not have the touch. He has slowly improved to become a more competent shooter and everything, but he's so very far from a quality first-option scorer that the HS stuff was still fairly predictive.

[og15]

Lol

If your team hasn’t won a championship in the past 5 years. Your team should be doing everything in it’s power to try to acquire Cooper Flagg

A guy of that magnitude in just a marketing standpoint he will go to a BIG market. Unfortunately the big market teams all have stipulations on why they CANT acquire him.

lol @ thinking the NBA will have him going to a memphis or Hornets team.

Somehow Anthony Davis went to New Orleans, and so did Zion. Edwards went to Minnesota, etc. When is the last time a "big market" even got the #1 pick?

lol @ thinking the NBA will have him going to a memphis or Hornets team.

I know the best prospect since Lebron would never go to a minor market like San Antonio....oh wait....

Zion a hype machine would never go to New Orleans.

Frozen envelopes forever baby

Seriously when people say this stuff it's so funny, there are so many counter example. If you theb have an explanation for every counter example, you've just proven that your claim is incorrect. It's in the NBA's interest for good talent to be on many different teams.

[tsherkin]

When is the last time a "big market" even got the #1 pick?

Blake Griffin to the Clippers? Not that the franchise is big, but it's LA. Rose in Chicago? Ewing in New York?

And I guess it isn't a big market, but the "Lebron lands in his hometown" story was a good one.

But which places besides LA and Miami really count as "big markets?" New York, sure, but to your point, it's been 40 years since that worked out.

[bisme37]

When is the last time a "big market" even got the #1 pick?

Blake Griffin to the Clippers? Not that the franchise is big, but it's LA. Rose in Chicago? Ewing in New York?

And I guess it isn't a big market, but the "Lebron lands in his hometown" story was a good one.

But which places besides LA and Miami really count as "big markets?" New York, sure, but to your point, it's been 40 years since that worked out.

Celtics had a #1 pick in 2017 but traded it to Sixers who took Fultz. Just for the sake of trivia. I'm thinking both Boston and Philly count as big markets.

[zimpy27]

Lol

If your team hasn’t won a championship in the past 5 years. Your team should be doing everything in it’s power to try to acquire Cooper Flagg

A guy of that magnitude in just a marketing standpoint he will go to a BIG market. Unfortunately the big market teams all have stipulations on why they CANT acquire him.

lol @ thinking the NBA will have him going to a memphis or Hornets team.

Somehow Anthony Davis went to New Orleans, and so did Zion. Edwards went to Minnesota, etc. When is the last time a "big market" even got the #1 pick?

lol @ thinking the NBA will have him going to a memphis or Hornets team.

I know the best prospect since Lebron would never go to a minor market like San Antonio....oh wait....

Zion a hype machine would never go to New Orleans.

Frozen envelopes forever baby

Seriously when people say this stuff it's so funny, there are so many counter example. If you theb have an explanation for every counter example, you've just proven that your claim is incorrect. It's in the NBA's interest for good talent to be on many different teams.

The opposite is closer to the truth. Big market teams less often get the #1 pick, especially when there is a generational prospect

[tsherkin]

Celtics had a #1 pick in 2017 but traded it to Sixers who took Fultz. Just for the sake of trivia. I'm thinking both Boston and Philly count as big markets.

I was thinking about them, for sure. Good calls, both.

[BigGargamel]

lol @ thinking the NBA will have him going to a memphis or Hornets team.

I know the best prospect since Lebron would never go to a minor market like San Antonio....oh wait....

Zion a hype machine would never go to New Orleans.

Frozen envelopes forever baby

People still think the lottery is rigged. It hasn't been since Ewing to the Knicks.

You really think anyone wanted Wemby in that popular media powerhouse in San Antonio?

[Shock Defeat]

Is Flagg any different than peak Chandler Parsons with some defense.

[El Hespiritu]

Cooper Flagg strikes me like the title of a sitcom...

[LakerLegend]

[When is the last time a "big market" even got the #1 pick?

And I guess it isn't a big market, but the "Lebron lands in his hometown" story was a good one.

But which places besides LA and Miami really count as "big markets?" New York, sure, but to your point, it's been 40 years since that worked out.

You have to look at a combination of population and economic output of the metro area (not city):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Metropolitan_Statistical_Areas

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._metropolitan_areas_by_GDP

Now keep in mind you can expand on these lists further. For example, Riverside is classified as it's own metro but it's part of Greater Los Angeles.

Or factor that this list doesn't include Toronto, and as far as a metro one should basically use the Golden Horseshoe area of Toronto, not the actual metro classification etc.

But based on the above lists, it's fair to say the pick LAST YEAR, Metro Atlanta qualifies as a big market. 6th in population and 9th in GDP.

[LakerLegend]

Cooper Flagg strikes me like the title of a sitcom...

Flagg does have the "star name".

I remember when Markelle Fultz was drafted someone said he had the name of a bust

[tsherkin]

You have to look at a combination of population and economic output of the metro area (not city):

Makes sense.

Now keep in mind you can expand on these lists further. For example, Riverside is classified as it's own metro but it's part of Greater Los Angeles.

Or factor that this list doesn't include Toronto, and as far as a metro one should basically use the Golden Horseshoe area of Toronto, not the actual metro classification etc.

But based on the above lists, it's fair to say the pick LAST YEAR, Metro Atlanta qualifies as a big market. 6th in population and 9th in GDP.

Interesting!

[UcanUwill]

Cooper Flagg strikes me like the title of a sitcom...

Reminds me of that DC character everyone hates - Snapper Carr.

[FarBeyondDriven]

Lol

If your team hasn’t won a championship in the past 5 years. Your team should be doing everything in it’s power to try to acquire Cooper Flagg

A guy of that magnitude in just a marketing standpoint he will go to a BIG market. Unfortunately the big market teams all have stipulations on why they CANT acquire him.

lol @ thinking the NBA will have him going to a memphis or Hornets team.

Somehow Anthony Davis went to New Orleans, and so did Zion. Edwards went to Minnesota, etc. When is the last time a "big market" even got the #1 pick?

lol @ thinking the NBA will have him going to a memphis or Hornets team.

I know the best prospect since Lebron would never go to a minor market like San Antonio....oh wait....

Zion a hype machine would never go to New Orleans.

Frozen envelopes forever baby

Seriously when people say this stuff it's so funny, there are so many counter example. If you theb have an explanation for every counter example, you've just proven that your claim is incorrect. It's in the NBA's interest for good talent to be on many different teams.

the NBA can't very well give every single big-name prospect to markets of their choice. They have to throw a bone small market teams to keep up the ruse but eventually the star will leave with extremely minor exceptions. Zion isn't long for NOP. Teams have so much control over players and the way contracts are it takes quite a bit of work to finesse your way out. Small markets only serve to act as farm systems for competitive teams. The NBA hasn't steered players the Knicks way since Ewing because they hate the owner.

San Antonio is the 7th most populated city in the country. Not "minor" in any sense

[Pelly24]

I actually think Flagg might be somewhat underrated. With his mobility and length and open-court and half-court speed — and his touch — he can be a great scorer. He's already looking like an impactful defender. I really saw all I needed to see at the USA selects scrimmage against team USA (and before that, obviously). I think he has the potential to be a top 5 player in the league if everything pans out. I could see him averaging 25 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks and 1.5 steals with elite defense and +3-+6 TS%.

[Johnny Firpo]

I actually think Flagg might be somewhat underrated. With his mobility and length and open-court and half-court speed — and his touch — he can be a great scorer. He's already looking like an impactful defender. I really saw all I needed to see at the USA selects scrimmage against team USA (and before that, obviously). I think he has the potential to be a top 5 player in the league if everything pans out. I could see him averaging 25 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks and 1.5 steals with elite defense and +3-+6 TS%.

Totally agree, I see him as a Top 5 player. He doesn't really have any true weaknesses, or at least it looks like it. I've said before that by Christmas, we will look at him like a Wemby-type prospect. We'll see, but even his floor is very high, at worst he is like an Aaron Gordon with a better shot. Which would be an all-star.

[Hook_Em]

The hyperbole surrounding Flagg is worthy. He should still be in high school if his DOB is legit.

[FlyingArrow]

"Can't miss" prospects miss all the time. For every Duncan, LeBron, or Wemby (whose story isn't written yet but exceeded rookie expectations), there are multiple players whose hype gets forgotten because they never come close to meeting it.

Cooper Flagg looks like another great prospect. Likely a future all-star, great chance of being top 5 for a good chunk of his career. I don't see GOAT-discussion in his future, and that makes him the best prospect since Wemby.