National college player of the year, Lute Olson Award, Julius Erving Award, Wayman Tisdale Award, NABC Freshman of the Year, ACC Player of the Year, ACC Rookie of the Year: just some of the many accolades Cooper Flagg earned in his single college basketball season. No wonder all eyes are set on him as the 18-year-old could very well be entering the 2025 NBA draft. However, the possibility that almost every NBA franchise would be eying him has put two teams under major scrutiny.
Let’s start with the Chicago Bulls. On an episode of Run It Back, content creator and Bulls fan Kenny Beecham gave fans a pretty honest take on what a dream summer looks like for his team. “Perfect summer is at 1.7 percent chance of that first overall pick hits and we get Cooper Flagg on the team. That’s the only thing I can really say that’s a perfect summer [for the Chicago Bulls],” he said.
That slim chance? It’s basically their Hail Mary. Because right now, Bulls fans are exhausted. Beecham didn’t hold back there either. “We played 83 games this year and just so happened the game that mattered the most, we put up the least amount of points… I think the fans in the arena share the sentiment of fans across the globe when it comes to Bulls fandom. Being in the play in three years in a row. Losing to the Miami Heat three years in a row in the play in. We’re tired,” he said on Run It Back.
And tired might be an understatement. For Beecham, Cooper Flagg isn’t just another prospect—he seems to be the only bright spot in a pretty cloudy offseason outlook. But while the Bulls are desperate to land him, another team is catching heat just for allegedly wanting him. Enter Vernon Maxwell.
Now, if you know Maxwell, you know he’s never been one to mince words. So when he spoke with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson about the Utah Jazz’s rumored interest in Flagg, he stirred things up—fast. “That’s what they [Utah Jazz] do,” Mad Max said. “They send them white boys over there. When’s the last time Utah drafted a Black player? Do that!”
NCAA, College League, USA Basketball: ACC Conference Tournament Championship – Duke vs Louisville Mar 15, 2025 Charlotte, NC, USA Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg 2 during the 2025 ACC Conference Championship game at Spectrum Center. Charlotte Spectrum Center NC USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xJimxDedmonx 20250315_szo_db2_0003
Quite a contradictory situation for sure, where one team is facing backlash for lacking a star like Cooper Flagg, while the other team is being criticised for allegedly desiring to land him in the 2025 NBA draft.
What are the Utah Jazz’s chances of landing Cooper Flagg
With the 2024-25 season officially in the rearview mirror for the Utah Jazz, fans can finally shift their attention to something far more exciting: the NBA Draft. Let’s be honest—this season wasn’t pretty. But with every tough year comes a silver lining, and for Utah, that silver lining could be a franchise-altering draft pick.
According to Tankathon, the Utah Jazz, the Washington Wizards, and the Charlotte Hornets all sit at the top of the lottery food chain. Each has a 14 percent chance to grab the No. 1 overall pick—thanks, of course, to their painfully poor records this year.
That’s not all, though. All three teams are also holding a solid 52.1 percent chance of landing somewhere in the top four. So even if the Jazz don’t strike gold at No. 1, there’s still a pretty decent shot they walk away with a top-tier prospect.
Flagg’s versatility makes him the dream: he could form a defensive wall with Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler while feeding passes to Keyonte George. Trading someone like John Collins might be needed to make it work, but Flagg’s a game-changer.
Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper are two names already drawing attention, and both could fit into Utah’s puzzle in different ways. And these two names could also resolve Vernon Maxwell’s complaint of Jazz ignoring players of color.
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