Would winning Cooper Flagg sweepstakes turn the Hornets into a contender overnight?

Flagg is exactly what the Hornets need.
Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images
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I know what you're thinking. The Charlotte Hornets are a damsel in distress without a knight in shining armor on the way to save them. The franchise that sealed its fate in purgatory when a previous owner selfishly named the team after himself instead of selecting a name with local ties that could accentuate the rich history of the city in which it resides.

Those Charlotte Hornets are beyond saving, and there's no way that an 18-year-old basketball wunderkind with indelible two-way talent can drag them out of the multiple decade spanning morass they've been mired in.

I'm here to tell you that you're wrong.

Cooper Flagg is exactly what the Hornets need

Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg (2) reacts during the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

If you sat down with Professor Utonium and created a concoction of sugar, spice, everything nice, and Chemical X to create a basketball playing robot built specifically to slot into the Charlotte Hornets' core alongside LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Mark Williams, it would look identical to Cooper Flagg.

Flagg's two-way ceiling is as high as any non-Victor Wembanyama prospect in recent memory. The Duke freshman made noise on the grassroots high school circuits with his absurdly polished defensive play that was well beyond his years. That defensive acumen has translated to the ACC where Flagg has served as do-it-all eraser in Duke's number-two ranked defense (according to Ken Pom).

At 18-years-old Flagg is serving as the focal point of an elite college defense, flashing high-end IQ, athleticism, positioning, and one-one-one defense that will assuredly transfer to the next level.

On offense, Flagg does all of the little things right. He's a talented finisher who can throw down dunks that will remind Hornets fans of a young Miles Bridges. He continuously keeps the ball moving in the flow of Duke's offense, a trait that Charlotte's roster is in dire need of. The Hornets lack connective offensive pieces, meaning the ball sticks on the perimeter far too often, forcing LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller to play hero ball. Inserting Flagg will alleviate some of that problem from day one.

In all, Flagg is an analytical darling, an easy scout via film, and the perfect prospect for Charlotte to develop alongside their building core. Will Flagg save the Charlotte Hornets? That's hard to say. Decades of evidence prove Charlotte may be beyond saving. However, dropping Flagg's unreasonably polished skill set as an 18-year-old into Charlotte could be exactly what the franchise needs to make the next step.

If the Charlotte Hornets win the 2025 NBA Draft lottery and Flagg dons the purple and teal next season, I'm comfortable saying that the team will make the playoffs in 2026. Flagg is that good, the fit is that perfect, and the acquisition of the all-world prospect will accelerate Charlotte's timeline expeditiously.

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