NBA Draft: Ranking the best fits for top prospect Cooper Flagg
By Quinn Everts
Eventually, the Flagg will be captured. Duke freshman Cooper Flagg will be drafted in about six months, likely changing the trajectory of an NBA franchise that probably desperately needs its trajectory changed.
Flagg is a good enough prospect that whichever team gets the top pick will pick him and figure out roster configuration later, but that doesn't mean some teams aren't better fits than others.
1. Philadelphia 76ers
This might not be the team you expected to see top the list, but Flagg's fit in Philly is about as perfect as possible. Plus, with Jared McCain out with a torn meniscus, and Joel Embiid still struggling to get healthy, a Sixers No. 1 pick isn't as far-fetched as it would have sounded a few months ago.
Tyrese Maxey is the team's longterm starting point guard and Joel Embiid will be the the starting center whenever he's on the floor... but the three positions between them have lots of flexibility.
Philly could elect to start McCain at shooting guard next year, which would make it easy for Flagg to slot in at small forward and move Paul George to power forward (or vice-versa). Maybe the Sixers would keep George at the three, put Flagg at a very big two-guard and bring Jared McCain off the bench.
Maybe Flagg takes George's spot and PG turns into a great (albeit expensive) sixth man? There are plenty of ideas to play with here, but a team with an established point guard and a need for depth on the wings would be the best landing spot for Flagg's production.
2. Detroit Pistons
Tides are turning in Detroit; a 10-16 record has never felt this good, and it makes sense that staying competitive in most games (and winning some of them) feels like the greatest season ever for Pistons fans.
Cade Cunningham looks like an All-Star guard with a real team around him, but no one else on this team has emerged as a clear running mate for Cade. That's where Flagg would come in. Detroit is currently starting Tim Hardaway Jr. and Tobias Harris at small forward and power forward, respectively, and that's fine because this team needed any NBA-caliber players this season, but obviously neither veteran is a solution on the wing beyond about 2026.
But a star wing remains the biggest area of need for these Pistons and Flagg would slide seamlessly into that spot.
3. Washington Wizards
Any good basketball player would fit well on Washington, to be fair. The Wizards only have two players who I'm confident in saying are part of their longterm plans; Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr. Outside of those two, this roster has a lot of question marks. Or, like a question mark and an exclamation point then another question mark (that's Jordan Poole).
Flagg alongside Sarr and Coulibaly is the start of a good young lineup. Point guard will need to be addressed at some point but Flagg would change everything for this organization, and I think that trio would be enough to bring a little hope back to basketball in DC.
4. Chicago Bulls
This assumes that Zach LaVine will not play out his entire contract with the Bulls. At this point, that might be a silly assumption to make, but I do think LaVine actually gets traded this year and the Bulls open the tank gates in an attempt for a franchise-changing star.
Coby White has probably hit his ceiling as a guard (but it's a higher ceiling than initially expected) and White's timeline would be a little different from Flagg's, but that's still a solid duo. And considering Chicago doesn't really have a wing player on its roster outside of LaVine — not "doesn't have a good wing," I mean they basically don't have a wing at all — Flagg would do wonders for this roster's construction.
5. New Orleans Pelicans
Much like LaVine in Chicago, Brandon Ingram might be as good as gone from New Orleans after this season (or perhaps during this season). While Brandon Boston has done some nice things in his massively expanded role with the Pels, he isn't the wing of the future for this team.
Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones and Yves Missi should be back next season. Everyone else is a toss up to me, so New Orleans is basically going to start fresh in 2024-25 and what better way to start fresh than with Cooper Flagg?