Could The Tanking Race Be On Again For Cooper Flagg?

By not tanking for Victor Wembanyama, some teams might have learned their lesson

Apr 1, 2024; Houston, TX, USA; McDonald's All American East forward Cooper Flagg speaks during a press conference at JW Marriott Houston by The Galleria. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports / Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

Next year, everyone will be busy talking about Cooper Flagg, the newly arrived Duke power forward who projects to become a major NBA star, and one of the most influential wing defenders in the league.

The process leading up to that, however, will be interesting.

In 2023, when Victor Wembanyama was the grand prize of the draft lottery, the amount of tanking teams was lower than anticipated, and probably lower than it should have been. 

(You mean to tell me the directionless Bulls, Raptors, Hawks, and Nets at the time shouldn't have made a bigger effort to join the sweepstakes? Please.) 

The lack of teams joining in on the tanking fun might have led to some severe regrets after Wembanyama proved just how darn good he was right off the bat. 

Perhaps, then, that lesson will be shown to be learned next year when Flagg is up for selection.

At the end of the day, you have to be in it to win it, and Flagg is a legitimate prize.

At 6-foot-9, freakishly athletic, with a keen defensive sense already at just 17, it's difficult to see a scenario where Flagg doesn't pan out in some capacity.

Even if he tops out as a playmaking power forward, who is flirting with All-Defensive teams, and who scores almost exclusively in transition and off lobs, that's a borderline All-Star.

A whole list of things will have to go wrong for Flagg to bottom out entirely. A list that, frankly, would be outright unrealistic.

If he is to become the superstar that he's pegged as, that should be incentive enough for the rudderless teams to stop being rudderless and decide "to hell with it, we're going for it" in the final months of the season, if not earlier.

Of course, the skeptic would argue that there is only one Cooper Flagg, so why bother having 10 teams angling for him?

But really, what does a rudderless team have to lose at that point anyway? A crack at getting beaten in a play-in game?

Sometimes you have to swing, and the fact that so few teams seemed to dare to do so with Wembanyama should be a message to the league as a lesson learned for Flagg.

If a guy projects as a generational prospect, there's no argument to be found that the play-in tournament will overshadow the chance of potentially walking away with the future of your franchise. 

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.

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