NBA Executive on Cooper Flagg ahead of draft: "He’s easily going to be a multi-time All-NBA guy and an All-Star" (Exclusive)

Typically, NBA executives and talent evaluators engage in spirited debates about a draft prospect’s scouting report, potential and fit. Not so much this year with Duke freshman forward Cooper Flagg, whom the Dallas Mavericks are strongly expected to select with their No. 1 pick.

Nonetheless, there are a lot of other intriguing topics for these executives to debate. What does Flagg’s trajectory look like compared to other past No. 1 picks? How will he fit on a Mavericks team that has questions about Kyrie Irving’s return from an ACL injury and Anthony Davis’ injury history? Is there any scenario that the Mavericks should even entertain dealing their No. 1 pick?

A Western Conference executive, an Eastern Conference executive, and an NBA scout all spoke to Sportskeeda about those topics.

Editor’s note: The following one-on-one interviews were conducted separately. They have been condensed and edited.

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NBA Executives and Scout on Cooper Flagg (Exclusive)

How do you think Flagg will do compared to other No. 1 picks?

Western Conference executive: “If he’s healthy, he’s easily going to be a multi-time All-NBA guy and an All-Star for multiple years. I’m not going to be surprised if he’s a multiple-time first, second, or third-team All-NBA. His goal is probably to win multiple championships and be recognized as one of the best players in the NBA ever. But for a team that is drafting him, you want to think that he’s a franchise player. He is one of those 10-15 guys each year who are labeled as franchise players. Now, I don’t know if he gets to that point. But the All-NBA is easier for me to see.”

Eastern Conference executive: “The really freakish thing is that he’s only 18 years old. I’m not sure there was a No. 1 pick who was 18. There’s not much that he can’t do. I’ve seen him play a lot this year. I still question his consistency in shooting with range. But not as much as I did a year ago. He’s just going to get better and better with repetition. He has a great body to fill out to get stronger. He seems to compete and wants to work. The team that gets him, looks at Dallas, they’re a lucky team. He has a chance to be an All-Star caliber for many years.”

NBA scout: “Cooper is not a freak athletically like LeBron [James] or [Victor] Wembanyama. But what does come around is his maturity and depth of his versatility. That’s what should be exciting for the Mavericks right now. They know what they’re going to get. The ceiling is still high because he’s still going to develop, and he can still grow. He can get better. He can make not only himself better, but also the team better. That’s important. He can come in right away and not necessarily have this chip on his shoulder with the way he plays, because it is aggressive. But with the quick first step and his size, he can take people off the dribble while having the instincts of court awareness and knowing where everybody is and playing to win.”

How adaptable do you think Flagg will be with his varying roles to account for Kyrie and AD, and if either is out of the lineup with injuries?

Western Conference executive: “The one thing about Cooper is he’s very interchangeable with a lot of their lineups. So if you don’t get caught up with him being a 4 or a 3, I think Cooper is so skilled. He can play alongside PJ [Washington]. He can play alongside AD. If you want to play him, AD and [Dereck] Lively, he can do that. This guy, for his age, is as skilled as anybody coming into the NBA. He can dribble, pass and shoot. He guards his position. He’s athletic enough. He rebounds. He can really pass. His IQ is as good as anybody coming into the draft as the No. 1 pick. So I think he’ll assimilate easily. I’m sure Jason Kidd will say, ‘You’re just a basketball player. Just go out there and play. And we’ll figure out the rotations.”

Eastern Conference executive: “In an odd way, Kyrie missing the beginning of the season might help Cooper. It might get him more reps and allow him to develop a little bit quicker. I don’t know how long Kyrie is going to be out with an ACL. But I’m not that worried about him fitting in. Even if Kyrie were playing, I think the kid would figure out a way to fit in and impact the game.”

NBA scout: “He’s going to make an impact. Unless there is an injury, the projection doesn’t have to be that he’ll be the best player in the world. The projection is that he’ll be an All-Star. I think he’s going to be an impact player early on. He’s going to get the playing time immediately because of injuries. He can fit in so many different roles. Getting that experience so early and with his confidence so high anyway, that catapults him above other rookies that won’t get that immediate playing time, confidence and experience. In the short term, he will be an early All-Star and will make an impact and be the Rookie of the Year, and help this team for the next generation.”

Is there any scenario it would make sense to trade the pick?

Western Conference executive: “As a general manager and front office, you have to listen if there are any offers for the No. 1 pick. I would say there is probably only one player they would even think about trading the No. 1 pick for. But unless Nico [Harrison] gets in a car accident or lands on his head, I just don’t think that’s going to happen. He’s the clear-cut No. 1. It’s not even close. That’s no disrespect to the rest of the 59 picks in the draft. He is clearly the No. 1 pick. Other than game experience, strength and his body, there are not a lot of weaknesses to his game. They’ve got to listen if any team calls. You have to do that. That’s the right thing to do for your franchise. You have to evaluate all of that. But at the end of the day, I think Nico knows that this guy is the No. 1 pick.”

Eastern Conference executive: “With Kyrie being hurt and you don’t know if he’s coming back next year, I just don’t know if I would do it. Obviously, if you trade Flagg, you’re going to get back an accomplished veteran. The point is to do it to try win right away. But if Kyrie doesn’t play next year and you make that deal, that’s one less year now that you have a chance to win. Kyrie should come back and be a similar player to the one he was before he got hurt. They repair that thing pretty good these days. But what if he’s not and you made that trade? I would lean toward not doing it. If Kyrie were healthy, then I think you’d have to look at it and say, ‘Oh my goodness, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis and now we can add another star?’ But I’m not sure I would do it under these circumstances.”

NBA scout: “We’ve seen crazy things this year. But the safe thing is just to take him. They need some point guard help. Kyrie will be out until at least January next year. They don’t have a lot of point guards left. Could they package him if they wanted [Dylan] Harper, [Ace] Bailey, or something like that? That would be difficult to do. Cooper is a player that I would not want to reject or take a risk on passing. The Mavs have aging players. So they need younger players. They’re getting more defensively oriented. But they need perimeter help.”

Mark Medina is an NBA insider for Sportskeeda. Follow him on X, Blue Sky, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.