Cooper Flagg stands above the rest of the 2025 NBA Draft class.

As the post-All-Star break sprint begins, many teams will vie for playoff spots, while others will consider tanking in hopes of landing the Duke standout.

On the latest episode of “NBA Daily,” Es Baraheni was joined by Bryce Simon to discuss Flagg’s best fit if he moves on from the Blue Devils after the season as expected.

A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on YouTube below or in the “NBA Daily” podcast feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. 

Baraheni: I want you to make one fan base’s day. There are five teams right now at the bottom: the Wizards, the Pelicans, the Jazz, the Hornets and the Raptors. That’s really the race toward the bottom. Which one of those teams would you like to see Cooper Flagg on the most, whether that be fit, or whether that … team deserves a player like him?

Simon: I want to be clear: He should be the first pick for all of these teams. Just because Toronto has BI (Brandon Ingram), Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett, I don’t think if they get the No.1 pick, they should be like, “You know what, we’re actually going to take so and so.” But because of that roster, I’m like, “OK, Toronto, don’t love it as much.” I’m not saying the Wizards shouldn’t take him because they have Alex Sarr, I think that would be an interesting fit. But where he really slots in are actually places that have four-men, where it’s like, “Hey, you move on from those guys and let Cooper Flagg be the guy.”

It could be the Pelicans … how funny would that be? You move on from Zion (Williamson), the most recent big-time Duke guy, for Cooper Flagg. Then you let him, Trey Murphy (III) and (Yves) Missi and whoever else … you let those guys build out this thing.

Or, it could it be in Charlotte. I think he and Brandon Miller complement each other very well as this wing-forward combination. I would have said Mark Williams two weeks ago, but I don’t know what that means for him anymore. Then obviously, you have LaMelo Ball there, as well.

So, those are the two teams. For me, I would go ahead and move on from Miles Bridges (if I were Charlotte), I would go ahead and move on from Zion Williamson (if I were New Orleans), and I’d let Cooper Flagg come in. Utah would also be interesting, but those are the teams that stick out for me.

Baraheni: The Hornets are interesting because adding Cooper would also make it more viable to keep LaMelo just because of the defensive potential of a guy like him on the weak side roaming around. That just enhances you so much defensively that you can actually live with some of the mistakes that LaMelo makes on the defensive end, which is kind of an intriguing fit there. So, Charlotte and, maybe, New Orleans are the teams. Hornets and Pelicans fans: Rejoice.

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