Ranking the 3 best Cooper Flagg fits after a chaotic NBA trade deadline

The 2025 NBA trade deadline will go down in the history books as one of the most shocking and transformative weeks this league has ever seen. There is an understandable focus on the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis swap, but several All-Stars changed homes, from De'Aaron Fox to Jimmy Butler.

This has an immediate impact on the standings and the postseason landscape, but it could also impact the 2025 NBA Draft. Front office priorities always shift after a significant trade. The Spurs, for example, no longer need a point guard. The Dubs, once lacking a dependable creator next to Stephen Curry, now have one for the next few years at least.

One has to imagine Duke freshman Cooper Flagg was paying special attention to the crazy happenings around the NBA in recent days. The 18-year-old is a lock to come off the board No. 1 overall in June, but the hectic deadline unquestionably impacts where Flagg fits best at the next level. His NBA fate will ultimately be determined by a few random pingpong balls, but Flagg can still cross his fingers and hope that one of these teams strikes gold.

Here are the best (realistic) lottery fits for Flagg after the NBA's dramatic makeover on Feb. 6.

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3. Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers quietly won nine of 10 before back-to-back blowout losses to West contenders. It's clear this Portland team will settle near the bottom of the standings this season, but Joe Cronin and the front office are working with real pieces.

Anferee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe are impressively dynamic scoring threats on the perimeter. Scoot Henderson, the former No. 2 pick, is coming into his own as a point guard in his sophomore campaign. Donovan Clingan, meanwhile, is the imposing defensive anchor this Portland squad previously lacked.

It has been a mixed-bag season for the team at large, with Deandre Ayton still eating an uncomfortable chunk of cap space and Jerami Grant completely falling off the map. For Flagg, though, the chance to team up with multiple bright, up-and-coming guards has to be appealing. He can address the holes in Portland's defense while giving them a physical, malleable playmaking threat on the wing — one who fits quite nicely with the Blazers' gaggle of volume-shooting perimeter weapons.

An elite help-side defender, Flagg and Clingan would effectively seal off the paint on a nightly basis. Offensively, Flagg can make quick decisions in the flow of the offense and target mismatches as a scorer on the wing. His 6-foot-9 frame, high basketball IQ, and well-rounded skill set are precisely what the Blazers need to round out this budding core.

2. Washington Wizards

There has been a lot of 'please don't let Cooper Flagg end up in Washington Wizards purgatory' on the social media timeline, to which I respond... why not? The Wizards are a remarkably bad team, but we cannot conflate a lack of success with a dim future. Washington has real pieces in place, even if it's all in the earliest stage of gestation.

Flagg would kick this Wizards' rebuild into high gear. Alex Sarr and Bilal Coulibaly are absolute game-wreckers on the defensive end. Flagg can tie it all together, giving Washington three elite, switchable defensive cogs listed 6-foot-7 or taller.

Meanwhile, the offensive benefits of Flagg in DC would be pronounced. The Wizards are content to let Jordan Poole cook right now, but incorporating a legitimate No. 1 option — a central, 6-foot-9 playmaking fulcrum who can score effectively at all three levels and produce mismatches with his athleticism — elevates the whole unit. Suddenly Couliably and Sarr can settle into more streamlined, efficient roles. Suddenly, the offense does not rest entirely on Poole's plate. He can do more of the off-ball stuff that made him so special in Golden State. Bub Carrington, meanwhile, can lean into his strengths as a volume pull-up shooter and table-setter, with Flagg offsetting the 19-year-old's lack of dribble penetration and at-rim scoring.

Flagg will need time and patience at the next level, but he's already a historically productive college player a few months past his 18th birthday. There isn't a higher "floor" in the 2025 draft. Flagg is the franchise pillar this talented, if ill-fitted and unpolished Wizards core lacks. Washington is capital-F FUN with Flagg in the mix. Don't let them tell you otherwise.

1. Charlotte Hornets

It has been a challenging first season at the commands for Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee. Bring the local Duke product into the fold, however, and suddenly the Hornets are trending up in a big way.

Charlotte is one of the few lottery teams with established star-power. Flagg, despite his youth, should be ready to win games out of the gate, even if it takes him time to get up to speed as a proper alpha. He's too good on defense and too versatile on offense. His ability to scale up or down and oscillate between roles is incredibly valuable at his size. Flagg has earned his stripes as Duke's top option, but he can also set screens, connect dots as a short roll passer, and attack out of spot-up situations.

LaMelo Ball, for all the flak he catches, is a player who elevates those in his orbit. The 6-foot-7 point guard has a knack for kickstarting fastbreaks and leveraging his deep pull-up range to inch teammates open. He makes every pass in the book, with flare to spare. Flagg will get out in the open court with LaMelo and get downhill, making rapid-fire decisions that grease the wheels on Charlotte's entire scheme. The Hornets have the scoring firepower to win games; Flagg is the savvy, high-level connector and play-finisher Charlotte presently lacks — all while presenting the upside of a franchise cornerstone.

Ball, Flagg, and Brandon Miller is a great foundation to build around. Charlotte needs major help on the defensive end, especially with Mike Williams' durability in constant flux. Flagg is not a traditional interior anchor, but he will roam passing lanes, rack up weak-side blocks, and give this Hornets squad a much-needed competitive edge.

This is probably the most entertaining and fruitful outcome for Flagg individually.