NBA Mock Draft: Could Cooper Flagg Land with the Nets in a Wild Pre-Lottery Scenario?

NBA Mock Draft: Cooper Flagg to the Nets? Here’s a wild pre-lottery scenario that could happen

Since the NBA flattened the draft lottery odds in 2019, the three teams with the worst records all have a 14% chance of landing the first pick. On three occasions — in 2019, 2023, and 2024 — two of the three teams with 14% odds ended up falling out of the top three entirely. While it’s a deflating moment for fans and front offices, it’s a possibility worth preparing for: Mathematically, that’s actually the most likely outcome on lottery night with a 50.9% probability of happening.

What hasn’t happened yet is a full wipeout: all three of the worst teams fall out of the top three. There’s only a 15.7% probability of that happening, but now in the seventh year with these new lottery odds, maybe we’re due for it. And so that’s the scenario this latest mock draft explores: What happens if the Jazz, Wizards, and Hornets all don’t end up in the top three? It would be a crushing blow for each franchise, but in all likelihood at least one or two of them will experience that pain on draft night so it’s a possibility worth exploring.

Below is the first round for this mock. You can find this mock, plus a full second round and scouting reports for every single prospect in the 2025 NBA Draft Guide, which you can explore here.

Let’s get to the first round:

1. Brooklyn Nets: Cooper Flagg, F, Duke
   The Nets have a clean slate this offseason, so Flagg would be joining a team that could go in any sort of direction whether it’s a slow build or a quick turnaround. As a do-it-all forward who hustles like a madman, makes his teammates better as a passer, and has dialed in a knockdown jumper, he could fit anywhere. He’s both the best offensive and defensive prospect in this draft class, making him the safest No. 1 pick in ages. It’s his growth as a shot creator that will decide if he reaches his All-Star floor or soars to his Hall of Fame ceiling.

2. New Orleans Pelicans: Dylan Harper, G, Rutgers
   Harper is a big-bodied lefty combo guard with NBA blood in his veins, as the son of Ron Harper, who was a 20/5/5 guy before winning five titles as a role player. Like his father, Harper has a high floor with the skill, poise, and playmaking instincts to dictate the game at his pace, skills that could really help in New Orleans given Dejounte Murray is recovering from a torn Achilles. But the fate of Harper’s jumper will determine whether he’s an All-Star or just one of the NBA’s many solid guards, which makes him an imperfect fit on paper next to Zion Williamson.

3. Philadelphia 76ers: Ace Bailey, F, Rutgers
   Sixers fans would be happy they get to keep their pick. Bailey is a ridiculous shot-making machine, capable of splashing contested jumpers from every spot on the floor and with the swagger of a throwback bucket-getter. But his shooting consistency, plus his raw edges as a shot creator and defender, need sanding down to turn him into a full-on star. But Bailey isn’t a prospect who could help right away, so there’d be a great debate among Sixers fans whether his acquisition should signal a new future focus or if he should be utilized as a trade piece to bolster the present.

4. Houston Rockets (via Phoenix): VJ Edgecombe, G, Baylor
   Jalen Green isn’t that guy. That much is clear watching the Rockets this postseason. If Green were traded, Edgecombe would make sense as a replacement as an explosive, high-motor wing who flies out of nowhere for poster dunks and chase-down blocks. He pairs his elite athleticism with a knockdown spot-up jumper and fearless slashing. Though he needs to improve his shot creation to become more of a primary creator, any trades the Rockets make would separately address that need.

5. Utah Jazz: Kon Knueppel, G/F, Duke
   With Isaiah Collier and Keyonte George already on the roster, can the Jazz really afford to draft another guard like Jeremiah Fears or Tre Johnson? Perhaps Utah would go in that direction since Collier and George both have shaky shots. Maybe neither of them are the guy. But they’ve both shown enough flashes to continue investing in them when Fears and Johnson aren’t guarantees to thrive anyway. Going with Knueppel would better fit Utah’s youth movement. Knueppel brings more than just a sharpshooter’s stroke thanks to his brainy pick-and-roll playmaking and crafty scoring feel. He’s got a