Should Utah pick Cooper Flagg if he's available?
Selecting the Duke star would check some boxes on and off the court. Also: BYU guard Egor Demin declares for the NBA Draft and Deion goes off on an NFL scout.
By the time you read this article the Utah Jazz will have lost more games this season than any team in the NBA—other than maybe the Wizards.
» The Jazz did this [and ate a $250,000 fine for sitting Lauri Markkanen] not only to guarantee themselves a legitimate shot at Duke superstar Cooper Flagg—it virtually assures Utah of a 1-in-2 shot at a top five pick in a draft class loaded with potential difference makers. In the purported top five picks alone, we’ve got Flagg, two guys from Rutgers in Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey [and when has that ever happened at Rutgers], a versatile big in Tre Johnson of Texas and a bonafide clone of Dominique Wilkins in Bahamian Baylor guard VJ Edgecombe.
I think the Jazz would go away feeling happy about any of these guys, but: none of the afore-mentioned four guys are Cooper Flagg.
Let’s face facts, alright? Flagg is a “cold ass white boy,” and that is coming from Kevin Garnett, who ain’t really about giving his props to anyone—in particular white college basketball players. The Duke star Flagg absolutely shredded the USA first-team in a pre-Olympic scrimmage.
Honestly, dude should’ve been on the plane to Paris if we’re keeping it a buck, and that’s all the more reason why Utah needs to do whatever Utah does (I dunno and don’t wanna know) to get events such as the Winter Olympics (twice), the NBA All-Star game mini-basketball Olympics (twice) and that USC-Utah football game on FOX (even if the idiot LA producers sent Utah out of each break on country music tunes and made us look like a bunch of redneck fuddies on national TV.)
This is OUR opportunity to right the wrongs beset upon us by all the LA big city haters and stick it to the rest of the NBA. Here are three reasons the Utah Jazz need to go all in on Cooper Flagg.
Endorsements
If you thought Jimmer could set this state on fire about 15 years ago, you haven’t seen ANYTHING yet with Flagg. Not only does he come with KG’s blessings — Kevin is a friend of Jazz CEO Danny Ainge from way back when KG was yelling ANYTHING IS POSSIBLLLLLLLE into the nearest mic having won the NBA title.
Flagg is already piling up the actual monetary endorsements, but: if you ever wanted to see someone’s Nikes on the side of a downtown Salt Lake City skyscraper [yes, we have a few], and if you ever wanted your kids to switch their allegiances from Don to the Nikes Flagg would inevitably be wearing, Cooper would be your guy. [And, his mom Kelly could star in all the credit union commercials, ridding us all of this weird ‘humblebrag’ that my late friend in television said permeates Utah culture like a virus.]
Location
Listen, man. Flagg is from MAINE which is more or less the Idaho of the East Coast. A few national parks, a few cities but mostly it consists of farmland as far as the eye can see and has ONE export: lobstahs. Considering Dylan Harper is the flesh and blood of Chicago Bulls villain Ron [‘nuff said], I’m not sure a move to Utah is on the Rutgers star’s list of priorities.
I suspect it isn’t for Ace Bailey, who grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, not far from Memphis, home to the rival Grizzlies. Edgecombe is a possibility for the mere fact he’s visited Utah twice with his Baylor team and former Baylor star Keyonte George visited with VJ. If the Jazz somehow don’t get a pick in the top three, then Edgecombe becomes a possibility—though I would guess they’d be going for Johnson. I’m not even 1000 percent certain Johnson will go top five in the lotto, but: he is there now and isn’t that something? Ok, fine, but Flagg is still the guy to grab … if he’s there.
Versatility
At the Utah Jazz, there aren’t any superstars. If you say Keyonte I might just smack you. [By the way, he’s averaging the same number of points as his biological Jason Siggers, look him up]. The Jazz NEED scoring worse than the Great Salt Lake needs water—alright, maybe not as bad.
As we sit here today a little more than two months away from the draft, the Jazz have a lineup of Isaiah Collier, Keyonte, Lauri Markkanen and, if healthy, Taylor Hendricks to work alongside Walker Kessler. I’m not sold on Hendricks being totally ready by October after that horrific leg break so you can pencil in Flagg at the 3/4 by next year, because he’s versatile and he can score right now on NBA-caliber talent.
Also, Flagg averaged 19 points, 8 rebounds and five assists and was just named the winner of the Wooden and Naismith awards as the top player in all of college basketball. Honestly, I was kind of hoping Flagg’s Duke team lost to Houston (newsflash: they did, 70-67] in the NCAA Final Four because I didn’t really see a need for him to play one year of college hoops anyhow. «
Overthink This Photo 📸
📷 » TikTok
Other than Cooper Flagg draft rumors, the big news of the week was that Deion Sanders, head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes football team, humiliated a scout from the Denver Broncos during the Buffs’ Pro Day.
All the scout was trying to do? Dispense advice to Colorado’s players about how to properly get into a stance to run a 40-yard-dash—that was all.
“Y’all start how y’all want to start,” Deion stated. “ … **** this man here. Do y’all thing. Do what you all do.”
Sanders has been on edge the past two weeks, continuing his frustration into the current week, where he lambasted several players during Monday’s practice held outdoors.
Sanders, who then threatened several Buffs players by telling them they could be replaced by kids in the transfer portal, just received a 5-year extension at Colorado despite only winning 13 of his 25 games in Boulder, and losing the Valero Alamo Bowl in embarrassing fashion to BYU. «
» Demin Of The People
RUMORS » The word on the street was that BYU Russian sharpshooter Egor Demin was having trouble deciding whether he should stay in Provo for his sophomore year or declare for the 2025 NBA Draft.
The likable and versatile combo guard out of Real Madrid was the Cougars second leading scorer this season, helping lead BYU to the NCAA Sweet 16. He averaged 11 points, six assists and four rebounds, yet scored 14 per contest during the NCAA tourney—his best run of form all season.
With 5-star forward AJ Dybantsa signed to play for BYU next season, it made sense for Demin to want to stay and play alongside such a rare talent.
But, Demin made the decision this past Monday to call it a day in Provo and declare for this upcoming draft, where he’s predicted to be selected anywhere from a late lottery pick to later in the first round. «
#WhatAreWeDOING Playoffs: Championship Game Results!
» Congrats [we think] to the BYU little girl national anthem singer hater, who for his efforts in humiliating a 9-year-old will receive absolutely no prize whatsoever for his title game victory and will carry the shame of having been outed by an entire state.
Thanks for reading; be safe and be well. I’ll see ya next time. «