Cooper Flagg’s terrific performance this summer with the Select Team against Team USA caused a stir.
Actually, they’re still talking. In this case, it’s Chet Holmgren from Oklahoma City, who said the following:
“It’s impressive. Not only do you see the different skills he has, but he also just understands the situation. He’s 17, has never played a college game and is coming to compete against the best basketball players in the world.”
As you can see from the first link below, the conversation will now turn to the topic of “tanking”: Should teams tank for a chance (no pun intended) on Duke freshman Flagg?
Actually, that’s pretty stupid for a couple of reasons. First, with the weighted lottery, you can only hope for better odds. In 1969, there were rumors that Milwaukee and Phoenix had bad luck on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but in 1969, it was just a coin flip between the two worst teams.
The second reason it’s stupid is that if you do that, your team culture has to embrace losing as a virtue. And who in their right mind wants to build that in?
Their culture is crucial. No professional athlete should want to be associated with a team that intentionally loses.
However, if you want to manipulate the draft, having multiple picks is the best way to do it. And many NBA teams are probably nervous about the Spurs. Why?
Because the Spurs have been lucky in draft lotteries in the past. They won in 1987 for David Robinson, in 1997 for Tim Duncan and in 2023 for Victor Wembanyama.
The Spurs have two lottery picks for 2025. Given their history, it’s pretty crazy to have two chances. The idea of building a defense around Wembanyama and Flagg?
Even crazier.
