As you have probably gathered, while Cooper Flagg is going to be the #1 pick by the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Draft later this month, people have had really different opinions about his potential. While Chris Paul thinks he’ll be really good, some other players are far more skeptical. Former Celtic Tony Allen, for instance, thinks he’s overrated.
And now we get wildly different takes from basketball writers Chuck Klostermann and Sam Vecenie.
Klosterman compares him to Detlef Schrempf, saying that “I don’t see him as a dominating player. I think he’ll be the second best player on a good team or the third best player on a great team.”
For his part, Vecenie is much more intrigued, saying this: “Cooper Flagg is, unsurprisingly, the No. 1-ranked player, and he has the second-highest grade I’ve given out to a prospect in the last decade, behind only Victor Wembanyama. Flagg has a tremendous blend of ceiling and floor. His skill level, improvement as a shooter, defense, and overall competitiveness make him about as safe a prospect as you can find. However, he also has some very high-end potential outcomes that could result in him turning into a top-five player in the league.
“...I see Flagg as a future All-NBA player... His overall impact on the game on both ends of the floor is remarkable. He’s the exact kind of player you want to build your organization around in terms of temperament and mentality if you want to try to win championships. He’s an immediate organizational centerpiece.”
We watched Flagg play all year and while we’re really impressed, we’ve also been wrong about a lot of players over the years.
As they say, there’s only one way to know and that’s to see how he does. There’s no arguing with success.