How Would Cooper Flagg Change The Utah Jazz?
Apr 23, 2025, 5:09 PM
Cooper Flagg #2 of the Duke Blue Devils (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – After finishing with the worst record in the NBA, the Utah Jazz are hoping the draft lottery balls fall in their favor, allowing them to draft Duke phenom Cooper Flagg.
The Jazz have a 14 percent chance of landing the top pick in the draft, and like any team that wins the lottery, would take Flagg number one overall.
Related: What Would Jazz Do With The Third Pick?
Cooper Flagg Scouting Report
Bio: 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists: .481/.385/.840
Duke – Forward – 18 years old on draft night
Strengths: Entering college basketball as the top overall recruit, Flagg not only met the high expectations at Duke, he far exceeded them.
Flagg was named the National Player of the Year, leading the Blue Devils to the Final Four before losing to Houston in the semifinals.
The Duke forward’s biggest strength is his two-way versatility, where he will enter the NBA as a difference maker on both sides of the ball on day one.
Thanks to his 6-foot-9 frame, strong athleticism, and high basketball IQ, Flagg fits the mold of an advantage creator on offense and a switchable defender on the other end.
Cooper Flagg is filthy pic.twitter.com/weEwhJH3Gb
— Kevin O’Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) April 6, 2025
Physically, Flagg overwhelmed college defenders by earning 5.8 free-throw attempts per game, and never shied away from contact at the rim. Flagg is a straight-line driver with the ball in his hands, which draws a lot of contact from the defense, and allows him to make multiple trips to the charity stripe.
The forward had more games with 10 or more free-throw attempts (five) than one or fewer (four).
Despite having a height and strength advantage over nearly every player at the college level, Flagg’s unselfishness jumped off the page, finding his teammates at Duke, and understanding how to get them the ball to best utilize their strengths.
Flagg’s teammates all benefited from playing alongside the future star due to his willingness to swing the ball around the perimeter, make skip passes, drive and kick, or throw lobs out of the short roll.
COOPER FLAGG THROWS BACK-TO-BACK ALLEY OOPS 🔥 pic.twitter.com/FFsgoxjiER
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 28, 2025
As a result of his passing, the ball often came back to Flagg, where he shot an efficient 48 percent from the floor and 38 percent from three on 3.6 attempts per game.
Though not a pure shooter, Flagg has a quick release that, when paired with his height, should translate to the NBA with very little concern.
Duke was able to slow games to a crawl do to their physical advantage over other teams in college, but the forward has even more potential to unlock in transition, where his size and leaping ability jump off the page.
Even with his well-developed offensive repertoire, Flagg’s top high school ranking was due in large part to his skillset on the defensive end.
The Monteverde star overwhelmed fellow high school players with his combination of size, athleticism, and instincts.
In college, Flagg again showed his ability to defend all five positions on the ball, using his speed and anticipation to slow perimeter players, and his strength and height to defend near the rim.
COOPER FLAGG JUST WENT COAST-TO-COAST AND POSTERIZED THE DEFENDER 😱🔥
ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Z5jcZ756ew
— ESPN (@espn) January 8, 2025
Off the ball, Flagg is constantly lurking for steals and blocked shots, jumping into passing lanes and rotating over for helpside blocks. Throughout games, the forward is orchestrating the defense by calling out positioning and pointing to where his teammates need to be before plays begin.
Even when he isn’t generating takeaways, his well-timed help defense and recovery allow him to close off large sections of the floor.
While most star recruits are praised for their offensive potential, Flagg’s defense will earn him minutes immediately upon entering the NBA.
Weaknesses: Flagg’s weaknesses aren’t necessarily a reflection of holes in his game, but simply areas where he can get better to further impact games at a high level.
Though he projects to be a high-level scorer in the NBA, he may not reach the 30-point-per-game threshold reserved for the league’s truly elite offensive weapons.
Kawhi Leonard led two teams to championships while never averaging more than 27.1 points per game, and that may be a more accurate reflection of Flagg’s scoring upside than a LeBron James or Kevin Durant, who broke the 30-point-per-game threshold.
Thinking about this shot from Cooper Flagg pic.twitter.com/LmVDFE3eWN
— Blue Devils (@BlueDevils) April 1, 2025
Flagg excels as a straight line driver, but doesn’t have the same wiggle with his ball handling that will allow him to get anywhere on the floor he wishes.
As long as his shooting continues to evolve as it did at Duke, it won’t be a setback, but he could improve his ball handling to make it easier to get to his spots.
Furthermore, while Flagg shot a very respectable 38 percent from three in college, he wasn’t known as a great shooter coming out of high school, and he relies on catch-and-shoot threes at the moment for most of his perimeter scoring.
Flagg will have to get better at shooting off the dribble when initiating in the pick and roll to unlock his full potential as a scorer.
Defensively, Flagg will have to continue to work earlier in possession at the NBA level, rather than allowing his physical tools to compensate for any late reads.
Being bigger and faster than players in college and high school allowed him to recover from any minor mistakes defensively, but the NBA will not allow him that same generosity.
How Would Cooper Flagg Fit With The Jazz?
While the Jazz wouldn’t think twice about selecting Flagg, it’s worth asking how he would fit with the existing roster.
Like nearly every team picking in the lottery (sans San Antonio and Philadelphia), Flagg has a chance to be the best player on the Jazz roster by the end of his rookie season, if not sooner.
As a rookie, he’d likely be a top two or three scorer on the team and would be by far the Jazz’s most versatile defender.
His passing would allow him to fit well alongside any player on the Jazz roster that the team chooses to retain entering next season, especially in lob situations with Walker Kessler, while his scoring prowess would alleviate pressure on the team’s best options now, without taking a bite out of their production.
RIDICULOUS FINISH FROM COOPER FLAGG 😱#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/jEexF0sGdw
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 6, 2025
Defensively, Flagg would begin drawing the toughest assignments on day one, and next to Taylor Hendricks and Kessler, would give the Jazz formidable length and defense in the frontcourt for the foreseeable future.
Like all rookies, Flagg will need a few seasons before fully emerging as a star, but will impact winning on the first night of his career.
The NBA Draft lottery will be held on May 12.
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Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops, on Instagram @BensHoops, or on BlueSky.
