There is one golden ticket at the top of next week’s NBA Draft Lottery. Cooper Flagg elected to reclassify and join Duke as a 17 year old, and he still dominated college basketball en route to a National Player of the Year award. He’s been a highly regarded prospect since his early high school days, and he’s delivered. He’ll surely alter the course of whichever franchise is fortunate enough to have the ping pong balls bounce in their favor. If he lands with the Charlotte Hornets, they should immediately become playoff contenders.

Measurements

Height: 6’9″
Wingspan: 7’0″ (estimated)
Weight: 205 pounds

Strengths

Motor/intensity, feel for the game, defensive impact, offensive upside

Flagg is one of the most well rounded and safest prospects we’ve seen in the last several years. His game doesn’t have any glaring flaw, and all of the strengths are bolstered by the fact that he has a relentless motor on both ends of the floor. He’s long developed a reputation for playing exceedingly hard, which is rare for a player that’s been so highly regarded for so long. Skill set aside a player that plays as hard as Flagg does with as much intelligence as Flagg does is going to be a good player. It would be very hard for him to flame out.

Despite starting the college basketball season as a 17 year old, Flagg was one of the most disruptive defenders in the country. He averaged 1.6 steals and 1.6 blocks per 36 minutes and tallied elite defensive metrics. He’s a very motivated on ball defender, but he really shines within the team concept. He’s always attentive off the ball and is constantly hunting passing lanes. He has a great feel for when to help at the rim, even if he’s not in a traditional help side position. He has a knack for crashing at the right time to swat unsuspecting post up shot attempts. He’s an active and aggressive rebounder.

Flagg became more of a primary ball handler for Duke as the season went along, showcasing his versatility on that side of the ball. While he doesn’t have the smoothest or most elusive handle, he’s able to get to spots on the floor, and he makes the right play with the ball. He showed more ability to create looks for himself towards the end of the season, making pull up threes out of the pick and roll and getting into the paint for little floaters, flip shots, and yams on people. Off the ball, he was a better spot up shooter than he was billed as entering college, and that became a strength by season’s end. He’s a savvy cutter and can use his size to score over mismatches in the post.

That’s a lot of nice words, but that’s the kind of prospect Flagg is. Again, he dominated college basketball on both sides of the ball as a kid that started the season at 17 years old. That’s just not something we’ve seen before.

Question Marks

Handle, finishing at the rim

Flagg’s question marks aren’t as much weaknesses as they are areas for more focused improvement. I think both his handle and rim finishing are borne out of the same issue that’ll improve in time. He gets a little sped up with the ball at times, which can lead to sloppy dribbles and stumbles when met with contact. His finishing numbers are rather average, but I also think that’s more a product of him playing a little too quickly at times than it is an issue with his touch. Some time refining those skills and the game slowing down for him as he gains experience is only going to improve those. Neither issue is bad enough to prevent him from being a highly impactful player.

Overview

Flagg is the type of prospect that would fit with any team, but I think there’s a strong case to be made that the Hornets would be the most fascinating fit among teams at the top of the lottery. He and Brandon Miller have a lot of similarities in their game, and having that duo of players on the wing with a virtuoso ball handler and offensive hub like LaMelo Ball would make the Hornets must watch TV as soon as next season. Flagg would bring a jolt of competitiveness and intensity that this team is sometimes lacking, and his versatility would make him a seamless fit with LaMelo and Miller.