Analysis, fits for every NBA Draft pick from John Hollinger and Sam Vecenie
1. Dallas Mavericks
Cooper Flagg | 6-foot-8 wing | 18 years old | Duke
Vecenie's ranking: 1
Flagg is about as complete a prospect as I've evaluated in the years I've been doing this. I have him as the second-best prospect during my time as an evaluator since 2015, behind only Victor Wembanyama. While I think Williamson's theoretical ceiling was higher than Flagg's, Flagg's overall game on both ends of the court and his blend of skill level and craft will likely translate better to high-leverage situations. Two other factors make me pick Flagg over Williamson. First, with Flagg, there is no roster-building limitation. Because he's so complete and such an elite competitor in terms of mentality, he's an amplifier of those around him. With Williamson, you always needed to build a specific type of roster around him, likely needing to find the all-important floor-spacing center, a difficult archetype to acquire. Second, Williamson had injury concerns going back to high school. Flagg has not. The level of safety you get with Flagg drastically exceeds that of Williamson, even on draft day in 2019.
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I see Flagg as a future All-NBA player with his upside being that he could become a top-five player in the league. 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.
Hollinger's analysis: A sigh of relief from Dallas fans, as Nico Harrison didn't trade down or select somebody else. In all seriousness, this is an absolute no-brainer of a pick. Flagg's mid-case scenario is that he's an All-Star by the end of his rookie contract, and he has MVP upside. The bigger question for the Mavs is whether they should nuke the rest of their veteran team and rebuild around Flagg.
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