2025 NBA Draft Discussion Part 5

[mtcan]

Lol you have your head in the clouds if you think Flagg won't be handed the keys to the franchise day 1....He will instantly be our best prospect we had since Vince Carter.

PROSPECT.

He's a prospect.

Chill with the impatience.

Agents and media are likely questioning on not starting them.
Then rookie of the year awards are unlikely for someone coming from the bench, then near max contract are mostly for those with awards.

There are a lot of things impact the decision of not starting your rookie, which is one reason Barnes started even he is not even Flagg level.

And believe or not, your next top 3 pick may not want to work out with you. They may not want you to pick them.

Do you think Masai gives a **** about whether a kid will start on day 1?

AGAIN...I never said that he would NEVER start at all. I just said that he probably doesn't start on day 1.

This team is trying to win next season. We trying to get to the playoffs.

If Cooper goes to Washington or Charlotte...sure he starts on day 1 but the team sucks is lottery bound again probably...so how does that compare with getting lots of minutes still but coming off the bench for the first few months on a team that's winning games? That experience is much better.

He can still win ROTY. I'm sure he will get a ton of minutes still but I think we need to move some bodies and really solidify the roster but the only way to see what works is to play IQ/RJ/BI/Scottie a lot to start the season and then figure out what moves will work best for both Harper/Flagg/etc and the team going forward.

[Indeed]

PROSPECT.

He's a prospect.

Chill with the impatience.

Yeah but if your drafting someone that high hes going to start....This is also a business at the end of the day...Flagg is someone that is going to get shoe deals, Sponserships etc...The NBA make money off hyping up the top draft picks....They get thrown into the fire day 1....They don't take the wait and see approach with top picks that are hyped up.....Sometimes the pick doesn't work out as planned but they are not bench players opening night....Flagg is also too skilled to be benched....He would also be arguably our best player day 1 he gets drafted.

I never said that would NEVER start.

I just said that won't on day 1. I don't think that is controversial at all. Especially on a team that is trying to win.

PROSPECT.

He's a prospect.

Chill with the impatience.

Agents and media are likely questioning on not starting them.
Then rookie of the year awards are unlikely for someone coming from the bench, then near max contract are mostly for those with awards.

There are a lot of things impact the decision of not starting your rookie, which is one reason Barnes started even he is not even Flagg level.

And believe or not, your next top 3 pick may not want to work out with you. They may not want you to pick them.

Do you think Masai gives a **** about whether a kid will start on day 1?

AGAIN...I never said that he would NEVER start at all. I just said that he probably doesn't start on day 1.

This team is trying to win next season. We trying to get to the playoffs.

If Cooper goes to Washington or Charlotte...sure he starts on day 1 but the team sucks is lottery bound again probably...so how does that compare with getting lots of minutes still but coming off the bench for the first few months on a team that's winning games? That experience is much better.

He can still win ROTY. I'm sure he will get a ton of minutes still but I think we need to move some bodies and really solidify the roster but the only way to see what works is to play IQ/RJ/BI/Scottie a lot to start the season and then figure out what moves will work best for both Harper/Flagg/etc and the team going forward.

Zaccharie Risacher was the first overall pick last year, and started almost every game.
He isn't even at the level of Flagg, and Hawks got more players at that position.

The Hawks is about winning this year as well.

[mtcan]

Yeah but if your drafting someone that high hes going to start....This is also a business at the end of the day...Flagg is someone that is going to get shoe deals, Sponserships etc...The NBA make money off hyping up the top draft picks....They get thrown into the fire day 1....They don't take the wait and see approach with top picks that are hyped up.....Sometimes the pick doesn't work out as planned but they are not bench players opening night....Flagg is also too skilled to be benched....He would also be arguably our best player day 1 he gets drafted.

I never said that would NEVER start.

I just said that won't on day 1. I don't think that is controversial at all. Especially on a team that is trying to win.

Agents and media are likely questioning on not starting them.
Then rookie of the year awards are unlikely for someone coming from the bench, then near max contract are mostly for those with awards.

There are a lot of things impact the decision of not starting your rookie, which is one reason Barnes started even he is not even Flagg level.

And believe or not, your next top 3 pick may not want to work out with you. They may not want you to pick them.

Do you think Masai gives a **** about whether a kid will start on day 1?

AGAIN...I never said that he would NEVER start at all. I just said that he probably doesn't start on day 1.

This team is trying to win next season. We trying to get to the playoffs.

If Cooper goes to Washington or Charlotte...sure he starts on day 1 but the team sucks is lottery bound again probably...so how does that compare with getting lots of minutes still but coming off the bench for the first few months on a team that's winning games? That experience is much better.

He can still win ROTY. I'm sure he will get a ton of minutes still but I think we need to move some bodies and really solidify the roster but the only way to see what works is to play IQ/RJ/BI/Scottie a lot to start the season and then figure out what moves will work best for both Harper/Flagg/etc and the team going forward.

Zaccharie Risacher was the first overall pick last year, and started almost every game.
He isn't even at the level of Flagg, and Hawks got more players at that position.

The Hawks is about winning this year as well.

...and the Hawks missed the playoffs...so that's what you get.

Again...it's not that Flagg wouldn't start AT ALL...but if he comes off the bench for the first few months of the season...is it really that bad??????

And yet...look at the San Antonio Spurs. See what their opening night roster was??? They started: Chris Paul/Julian Champagnie/Harrison Barnes/Wemby/Jeremy Sochan. And who's winning the ROTY this season???? STEPHON CASTLE...and he didn't start games until later in the season.

We trying to be the Spurs and not the Hawks and not any of the other **** hole perennial lottery teams that take lottery talent every year and **** it up.

[Clutch0z24]

I never said that would NEVER start.

I just said that won't on day 1. I don't think that is controversial at all. Especially on a team that is trying to win.

Do you think Masai gives a **** about whether a kid will start on day 1?

AGAIN...I never said that he would NEVER start at all. I just said that he probably doesn't start on day 1.

This team is trying to win next season. We trying to get to the playoffs.

If Cooper goes to Washington or Charlotte...sure he starts on day 1 but the team sucks is lottery bound again probably...so how does that compare with getting lots of minutes still but coming off the bench for the first few months on a team that's winning games? That experience is much better.

He can still win ROTY. I'm sure he will get a ton of minutes still but I think we need to move some bodies and really solidify the roster but the only way to see what works is to play IQ/RJ/BI/Scottie a lot to start the season and then figure out what moves will work best for both Harper/Flagg/etc and the team going forward.

Zaccharie Risacher was the first overall pick last year, and started almost every game.
He isn't even at the level of Flagg, and Hawks got more players at that position.

The Hawks is about winning this year as well.

...and the Hawks missed the playoffs...so that's what you get.

Again...it's not that Flagg wouldn't start AT ALL...but if he comes off the bench for the first few months of the season...is it really that bad??????

Real question....Do you think Barnes is better than Flagg as a college player?....Do you think coming into the league Barnes is better than Flagg?....Barnes started on a team trying to win and make the playoffs...Even if people said OG/Barnes/Siakam was a bad fit...Nick Nurse started Barnes day 1....

Flagg will also contribute the most to us becoming a higher level team and an actual playoff team....So why in the world would he not start?....Hes better on the defensive end and the offensive end than most of our players including Barnes....RJ Barrett would hit the bench and we would go big....

IQ
Flagg (Would bring the ball up at times like LBJ Does)
Ingram
Barnes
Yak

Barrett 6th man

[mtcan]

Zaccharie Risacher was the first overall pick last year, and started almost every game.
He isn't even at the level of Flagg, and Hawks got more players at that position.

The Hawks is about winning this year as well.

...and the Hawks missed the playoffs...so that's what you get.

Again...it's not that Flagg wouldn't start AT ALL...but if he comes off the bench for the first few months of the season...is it really that bad??????

Real question....Do you think Barnes is better than Flagg as a college player?....Do you think coming into the league Barnes is better than Flagg?....Barnes started on a team trying to win and make the playoffs...Even if people said OG/Barnes/Siakam was a bad fit...Nick Nurse started Barnes day 1....

Flagg will also contribute the most to us becoming a higher level team and an actual playoff team....So why in the world would he not start?....Hes better on the defensive end and the offensive end than most of our players including Barnes....RJ Barrett would hit the bench and we would go big....

IQ
Flagg (Would bring the ball up like LBJ Does)
Ingram
Barnes
Yak

Barrett 6th man

I love Flagg and I think if he were a Raptor he would elevate this team but until moves are made and roles are defined...Masai isn't caring about whether or not Flagg starts. He's going to take his time and evaluate.

I'm not telling this as something I would like to see...but knowing what we know about this front office and coaching staff...they are patient to a fault.

As a fanbase...prepare yourself for some disappointment if Flagg were to end up a Raptor and doesn't start on day 1. I don't want to hear the complaining and calls to fire everyone.

As I later added to my post above....Stephon Castle did not start most games to start the season but he started later on in the season and he's likely the rookie of the year. The Raptors are much like the Spurs in that regard. Both front offices are patient.

[deeps6x]

That has been the problem in people claiming players will learn, and perhaps in no time.
However, our previous drafted players who have not even played much meaningful minutes (eg. Koloko).

The reason at this point we need a high draft pick is in need of a self creation player. We talked about it every year that we have enough role players with mid 1st. Yet, this draft we prefer to get a high end role player over anyone who can create, and assume they can get to that level. If that is true, we don't need to pray for a high draft pick and have the tank thread.

My preference is draft a self creation player at rookie contract, this has been what we discussed over the last few years, and our chance to do it.

I don't know what Koloko has to do with Maluach, Koloko was always second round talent and Maluach is a consensus top 10 pick. No comparison, one is 18 and the other was 22.

I'm not high on Fears because his 3 point shooting is suspect and he turns the ball over too much, he reminds me of guys like Scoot Henderson and Markelle Fultz, highly touted PG prospects who weren't worth their high draft pick at all. Maybe he figures out the shooting and the turnovers but this is another example of things a player needs to improve to be a valuable NBA player and that's what you were railing against with respect to Maluach.

Saying "we need shot creation with this pick" is just another version of "draft for need" to me, I don't see how it's any different. If we're drafting for need size and 3 point shooting are our biggest needs, not shot creation. We literally have one functional player above 6'8" on this roster and he has exactly one season left on his contract and is almost 30.

Koloko was 2nd round because he was older. Siakam was late 1st because he was older.

As for us, Ujiri never said we will draft for need on our 1st pick. We basically draft for BPA on the 1st pick, while our need and comes from our 2nd pick.

As for Fears, you dont base on someone shooting just on the stats. Same as Maluach who is only shooting 25% from 3 with low volume, and people claim he can, that would not be enough. You have to look at when he is shooting it and how he is shooting it. A standstill 3 and a pullup 3 with no assist is a totally different story.

Of that 25% from 3, the misses looked really, really bad. I'd guess it was a fluke that he wound up at 25%, as he looks more like a 15% shooter to me, from that range.

I can definitely imagine the potential, but if it comes, it is coming way, way down the road.

I'd rather bet on Fears, Tre, Jak or even Bryant if Masai likes him enough. Draft a backup C in the second round.

Man, we really need to move up. 1 or 2, you draft Flagg/Harper. 3 or 4, try to trade down for a couple FRPs. There is decent talent in this draft, but no tier 2 players (imho).

[Grew]

I never said that would NEVER start.

I just said that won't on day 1. I don't think that is controversial at all. Especially on a team that is trying to win.

Do you think Masai gives a **** about whether a kid will start on day 1?

AGAIN...I never said that he would NEVER start at all. I just said that he probably doesn't start on day 1.

This team is trying to win next season. We trying to get to the playoffs.

If Cooper goes to Washington or Charlotte...sure he starts on day 1 but the team sucks is lottery bound again probably...so how does that compare with getting lots of minutes still but coming off the bench for the first few months on a team that's winning games? That experience is much better.

He can still win ROTY. I'm sure he will get a ton of minutes still but I think we need to move some bodies and really solidify the roster but the only way to see what works is to play IQ/RJ/BI/Scottie a lot to start the season and then figure out what moves will work best for both Harper/Flagg/etc and the team going forward.

Zaccharie Risacher was the first overall pick last year, and started almost every game.
He isn't even at the level of Flagg, and Hawks got more players at that position.

The Hawks is about winning this year as well.

...and the Hawks missed the playoffs...so that's what you get.

Again...it's not that Flagg wouldn't start AT ALL...but if he comes off the bench for the first few months of the season...is it really that bad??????

And yet...look at the San Antonio Spurs. See what their opening night roster was??? They started: Chris Paul/Julian Champagnie/Harrison Barnes/Wemby/Jeremy Sochan. And who's winning the ROTY this season???? STEPHON CASTLE...and he didn't start games until later in the season.

We trying to be the Spurs and not the Hawks and not any of the other **** hole perennial lottery teams that take lottery talent every year and **** it up.

The thing is that someone as hyped as Flagg is just going to start on any team. I think the celtics would start him day 1. Derrick white can hit the pine. If it didn't work out, they would make adjustments. It's less about basketball and more about the business. People are tuning into games to see Wemby and Zion hype players as rookies, same with Flagg. People are buying Jerseys before he plays a game. Bringing that off the bench is bad business, I don't think any team would bench Cooper unless he got out on the court and didn't produce. I truly believe he would start day 1 on every team in the league whether it was good for the basketball side of things or not. I've also said before, there is no way Silver lets him go to a team that has a bench role in mind for him. Cooper is going to make them too much money next year to allow any team to not put him front and center.

[Clutch0z24]

...and the Hawks missed the playoffs...so that's what you get.

Again...it's not that Flagg wouldn't start AT ALL...but if he comes off the bench for the first few months of the season...is it really that bad??????

Real question....Do you think Barnes is better than Flagg as a college player?....Do you think coming into the league Barnes is better than Flagg?....Barnes started on a team trying to win and make the playoffs...Even if people said OG/Barnes/Siakam was a bad fit...Nick Nurse started Barnes day 1....

Flagg will also contribute the most to us becoming a higher level team and an actual playoff team....So why in the world would he not start?....Hes better on the defensive end and the offensive end than most of our players including Barnes....RJ Barrett would hit the bench and we would go big....

IQ
Flagg (Would bring the ball up like LBJ Does)
Ingram
Barnes
Yak

Barrett 6th man

I love Flagg and I think if he were a Raptor he would elevate this team but until moves are made and roles are defined...Masai isn't caring about whether or not Flagg starts. He's going to take his time and evaluate.

I'm not telling this as something I would like to see...but knowing what we know about this front office and coaching staff...they are patient to a fault.

As a fanbase...prepare yourself for some disappointment if Flagg were to end up a Raptor and doesn't start on day 1. I don't want to hear the complaining and calls to fire everyone.

As I later added to my post above....Stephon Castle did not start most games to start the season but he started later on in the season and he's likely the rookie of the year. The Raptors are much the Spurs in that regard. Both front offices are patient.

Lol you didn't answer the question....Do you think Barnes was better coming into the NBA than Flagg?....Raptors started Barnes day 1 and handed him the keys to the franchise....They had all NBA Siakam, FVV, OG At the time...Who on this roster is better than Flagg in the starting lineup? I will tell you no one will be disappointed because your theory is not in reality.....Flagg will be handed the franchise day 1 and he will earn it because he will be the best player on our team from an all around statistical view....

Like i said Flagg can bring the ball up the court hes done it at Duke....He would be much more natural doing it than Barnes....Flagg also has the better handles....You could Run Flagg/Quickley as your ball handlers which makes Barrett either trade bait in the offseason or a 6th man.

[mtcan]

Zaccharie Risacher was the first overall pick last year, and started almost every game.
He isn't even at the level of Flagg, and Hawks got more players at that position.

The Hawks is about winning this year as well.

...and the Hawks missed the playoffs...so that's what you get.

Again...it's not that Flagg wouldn't start AT ALL...but if he comes off the bench for the first few months of the season...is it really that bad??????

And yet...look at the San Antonio Spurs. See what their opening night roster was??? They started: Chris Paul/Julian Champagnie/Harrison Barnes/Wemby/Jeremy Sochan. And who's winning the ROTY this season???? STEPHON CASTLE...and he didn't start games until later in the season.

We trying to be the Spurs and not the Hawks and not any of the other **** hole perennial lottery teams that take lottery talent every year and **** it up.

The thing is that someone as hyped as Flagg is just going to start on any team. I think the celtics would start him day 1. Derrick white can hit the pine. If it didn't work out, they would make adjustments. It's less about basketball and more about the business. People are tuning into games to see Wemby and Zion hype players as rookies, same with Flagg. People are buying Jerseys before he plays a game. Bringing that off the bench is bad business, I don't think any team would bench Cooper unless he got out on the court and didn't produce. I truly believe he would start day 1 on every team in the league whether it was good for the basketball side of things or not. I've also said before, there is no way Silver lets him go to a team that has a bench role in mind for him. Cooper is going to make them too much money next year to allow any team to not put him front and center.

I think it is all immaterial.

You will see Cooper a lot even if he doesn't start day 1. If he plays at the start of the game or comes in after 6 minutes...it really doesn't matter in overall grand scheme of things. If he's good he'll probably finish more games than he starts and that' really what matters.

[mtcan]

Real question....Do you think Barnes is better than Flagg as a college player?....Do you think coming into the league Barnes is better than Flagg?....Barnes started on a team trying to win and make the playoffs...Even if people said OG/Barnes/Siakam was a bad fit...Nick Nurse started Barnes day 1....

Flagg will also contribute the most to us becoming a higher level team and an actual playoff team....So why in the world would he not start?....Hes better on the defensive end and the offensive end than most of our players including Barnes....RJ Barrett would hit the bench and we would go big....

IQ
Flagg (Would bring the ball up like LBJ Does)
Ingram
Barnes
Yak

Barrett 6th man

I love Flagg and I think if he were a Raptor he would elevate this team but until moves are made and roles are defined...Masai isn't caring about whether or not Flagg starts. He's going to take his time and evaluate.

I'm not telling this as something I would like to see...but knowing what we know about this front office and coaching staff...they are patient to a fault.

As a fanbase...prepare yourself for some disappointment if Flagg were to end up a Raptor and doesn't start on day 1. I don't want to hear the complaining and calls to fire everyone.

As I later added to my post above....Stephon Castle did not start most games to start the season but he started later on in the season and he's likely the rookie of the year. The Raptors are much the Spurs in that regard. Both front offices are patient.

Lol you didn't answer the question....Do you think Barnes was better coming into the NBA than Flagg?....Raptors started Barnes day 1 and handed him the keys to the franchise....They had all NBA Siakam, FVV, OG At the time...Who on this roster is better than Flagg in the starting lineup? I will tell you no one will be disappointed because your theory is not in reality.....Flagg will be handed the franchise day 1 and he will earn it because he will be the best player on our team from an all around statistical view....

Like i said Flagg can bring the ball up the court hes done it at Duke....He would be much more natural doing it than Barnes....Flagg also has the better handles....You could Run Flagg/Quickley as your ball handlers which makes Barrett either trade bait in the offseason or a 6th man.

It is irrelevant. They are both good will probably start next to each other by end of season...but not before some trades are made for the roster to make more sense.

We need to stop pitting one player against another on the same team. I hate having pissing matches over **** like that. I'm a fan of the team and the players on the team. I hold no agendas that one guy needs to go for the guy I'm currently stan-ing to play. That always devolves into some toxic discussion and I'm not here to engage in that.

[ciueli]

I don't know what Koloko has to do with Maluach, Koloko was always second round talent and Maluach is a consensus top 10 pick. No comparison, one is 18 and the other was 22.

I'm not high on Fears because his 3 point shooting is suspect and he turns the ball over too much, he reminds me of guys like Scoot Henderson and Markelle Fultz, highly touted PG prospects who weren't worth their high draft pick at all. Maybe he figures out the shooting and the turnovers but this is another example of things a player needs to improve to be a valuable NBA player and that's what you were railing against with respect to Maluach.

Saying "we need shot creation with this pick" is just another version of "draft for need" to me, I don't see how it's any different. If we're drafting for need size and 3 point shooting are our biggest needs, not shot creation. We literally have one functional player above 6'8" on this roster and he has exactly one season left on his contract and is almost 30.

Koloko was 2nd round because he was older. Siakam was late 1st because he was older.

As for us, Ujiri never said we will draft for need on our 1st pick. We basically draft for BPA on the 1st pick, while our need and comes from our 2nd pick.

As for Fears, you dont base on someone shooting just on the stats. Same as Maluach who is only shooting 25% from 3 with low volume, and people claim he can, that would not be enough. You have to look at when he is shooting it and how he is shooting it. A standstill 3 and a pullup 3 with no assist is a totally different story.

Of that 25% from 3, the misses looked really, really bad. I'd guess it was a fluke that he wound up at 25%, as he looks more like a 15% shooter to me, from that range.

I can definitely imagine the potential, but if it comes, it is coming way, way down the road.

I'd rather bet on Fears, Tre, Jak or even Bryant if Masai likes him enough. Draft a backup C in the second round.

Man, we really need to move up. 1 or 2, you draft Flagg/Harper. 3 or 4, try to trade down for a couple FRPs. There is decent talent in this draft, but no tier 2 players (imho).

I'm not sure why Maluach shooting 3s matters, that's not why you're drafting him, if he could do that he'd be a top 3 pick and out of our range. That's the difference between a C and a guard or swing, if the guard or swing doesn't develop a 3 point shot their career is over or they are a bench player at best, if the C doesn't develop it it's no big deal because the more important skills are defence, rebounding, shot blocking, and high percentage scoring around the rim.

[Psubs]

I don't see the point in comparing him to slashers that are continuously attacking the rim when he basically never does that.

Please link me the HS vids where he is slashing and doing this guard stuff because I have watched almost all the vids that are out there and haven't seen it at all. maybe i missed it

I like Carter Bryant and was hoping to find some hidden HS skills that he didn't show in college but his game looks the same, def an off ball guy

Watch on YouTube

Here's camp where is initiates offense and sets up Kon. At the end he swats Cooper!

Watch on YouTube

POA defender, low post-defender, perimeter initiator, post game, pull up game. He's like the more raw SG/SF version of Cooper.

I think he's really an 80%+ FT shooter just coming off the bench has those 1 for 2 games instead of 3 for 4 games that hurt.

[Clutch0z24]

I love Flagg and I think if he were a Raptor he would elevate this team but until moves are made and roles are defined...Masai isn't caring about whether or not Flagg starts. He's going to take his time and evaluate.

I'm not telling this as something I would like to see...but knowing what we know about this front office and coaching staff...they are patient to a fault.

As a fanbase...prepare yourself for some disappointment if Flagg were to end up a Raptor and doesn't start on day 1. I don't want to hear the complaining and calls to fire everyone.

As I later added to my post above....Stephon Castle did not start most games to start the season but he started later on in the season and he's likely the rookie of the year. The Raptors are much the Spurs in that regard. Both front offices are patient.

Lol you didn't answer the question....Do you think Barnes was better coming into the NBA than Flagg?....Raptors started Barnes day 1 and handed him the keys to the franchise....They had all NBA Siakam, FVV, OG At the time...Who on this roster is better than Flagg in the starting lineup? I will tell you no one will be disappointed because your theory is not in reality.....Flagg will be handed the franchise day 1 and he will earn it because he will be the best player on our team from an all around statistical view....

Like i said Flagg can bring the ball up the court hes done it at Duke....He would be much more natural doing it than Barnes....Flagg also has the better handles....You could Run Flagg/Quickley as your ball handlers which makes Barrett either trade bait in the offseason or a 6th man.

It is irrelevant. They are both good will probably start next to each other by end of season...but not before some trades are made for the roster to make more sense.

We need to stop pitting one player against another on the same team. I hate having pissing matches over **** like that.

Flagg can legit guard 1-5 He is an all around defender....Same with Barnes....Can also guard 1-5.....So on the defensive end you don't lose anything putting Flagg or Barnes on a guard....You also do not lose anything on offense as Flagg can also bring the ball up the court and make plays for team mates ....The only question will be the 3pt shooting....But Flagg is also capable at shooting.....Flagg vs Barrett in the starting lineup....You choose Flagg from a winning POV as well as Buisness.

[Tripod]

Let's worry about Flagg starting or not, if we win the lottery.

[Psubs]

Flagg can legit guard 1-5 He is an all around defender....Same with Barnes....Can also guard 1-5.....So on the defensive end you don't lose anything putting Flagg or Barnes on a guard....You also do not lose anything on offense as Flagg can also bring the ball up the court and make plays for team mates ....The only question will be the 3pt shooting....But Flagg is also capable at shooting.....Flagg vs Barrett in the starting lineup....You choose Flagg from a winning POV as well as Buisness.

Ya, if get Flagg, consolidate and bring in KD, Sabonis, Giannis, whoever they can get.

[Jerry Lucas]

I can't believe the completely nonsensical "Flagg would come off the bench on this team as a rookie" narrative is making another comeback...and yet again before the lottery.

[Indeed]

Zaccharie Risacher was the first overall pick last year, and started almost every game.
He isn't even at the level of Flagg, and Hawks got more players at that position.

The Hawks is about winning this year as well.

...and the Hawks missed the playoffs...so that's what you get.

Again...it's not that Flagg wouldn't start AT ALL...but if he comes off the bench for the first few months of the season...is it really that bad??????

Real question....Do you think Barnes is better than Flagg as a college player?....Do you think coming into the league Barnes is better than Flagg?....Barnes started on a team trying to win and make the playoffs...Even if people said OG/Barnes/Siakam was a bad fit...Nick Nurse started Barnes day 1....

Flagg will also contribute the most to us becoming a higher level team and an actual playoff team....So why in the world would he not start?....Hes better on the defensive end and the offensive end than most of our players including Barnes....RJ Barrett would hit the bench and we would go big....

IQ
Flagg (Would bring the ball up at times like LBJ Does)
Ingram
Barnes
Yak

Barrett 6th man

Flagg is better than Barnes at the same age. Flagg is invited to Team USA for a reason.

There are two questions:
Can or should Flagg play out of position for his development? If Flagg is a forward, I assume you at least want him to play at SF or PF?
Are our players flexible enough to play other positions? Which seems not and I don't think they will improve that much.

The most likely scenario is that we trade Poeltl and go small, since we know the value Poeltl is returning for, and he is an expiring soon.

[Clutch0z24]

I can't believe the completely nonsensical "Flagg would come off the bench on this team as a rookie" is making another comeback...and yet again before the lottery.

I didn't even know it was being argued but yes it is a pretty dumb one.

[BoyzNTheHood]

I can't believe the completely nonsensical "Flagg would come off the bench on this team as a rookie" is making another comeback...and yet again before the lottery.

I didn't even know it was being argued but yes it is a pretty dumb one.

That’s how you know who to ignore. They make it really easy for you.

[HumbleRen]

I’m just not sure how anyone can watch the playoffs today and look at our roster and think, yeah. We need to add more static offensive players.
.

Does anyone actually think that ?

Said no one ever lol. He's making up a phrase that's never been once uttered in the entire history of realgm, possibly the entire history of mankind.

Half the board wants to take a rim running center with potentially the only high lotto pick we’ll have for the next several years to be a back up big.

People are clearly saying that lol.