NBA rumors: Blazers, Lillard prepare to start season together, Trey Murphy injury update, Tatum on Cooper Flagg

NBA rumors: Jayson Tatum on Cooper Flagg

In a recent interview, Jayson Tatum weighed in on one of basketball's most promising young prospects: Cooper Flagg. Cooper Flagg is a 6-foot-9 five-star recruit. He's this 16 year old kid who allegedly beat Bradley Beal in 1-on-1 and talked trash the whole time. (He denied that, but with greatness comes folklore.) Here's what Tatum said about Flagg:

"I like him a lot. Obviously, he’s athletic, he can dribble, shoot. The thing that impressed me was how hard he competed on both ends. He’s got an edge about him, not arrogant. He knows he’s good, but he realizes he’s got a long way to go. He’s going at guys, going at the pros. He was trying to block every shot, getting every rebound. He wasn’t playing cool. He was playing hard, competing. He was asking questions a lot, listening"

- Jayson Tatum on Cooper Flagg

It appears that respect is mutual between them. In fact, Flagg even said he modeled his game after Jayson Tatum. Last summer, Flagg told ON3, "I always say I like to model my game after Jayson Tatum. And Grayson Allen too, with how hard he plays, and the grit he plays with.” Guess you could say things have come full circle for Cooper.

During Nike EYBL's Peach Jam this summer, Flagg averaged 25 points,13 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 6.9 blocks. Flagg's radar includes schools like UCONN, Duke, Kansas, and Kentucky. Considering Flagg grew up following Duke, hearing a former Blue Devil like Tatum praise his game must've been a surreal moment for Cooper.