The Losing Edge: 7 NBA teams that should be lining up to tank for Cooper Flagg
By Cal Durrett
The 2025 NBA Draft is more than 10 months away, but teams are already undoubtedly looking ahead to it. The reason being that the prospect expected to be at the top of the draft board is Cooper Flagg. Flagg is seen as a elite draft prospect, one who could quickly turn a struggling franchise around and there are quite a few struggling franchises in need of a potential star.
That could lead many of those teams to tank in the hopes of changing their fortunes, while others that should possibly won't.
With the change in draft lottery rules, the teams with the three worst records each share the highest odds of selected first, while the team with the fourth-worst record receives slightly lower odds. Tanking for a 14% chance over even a 12.5% chance at the top pick may seem counterproductive but many teams won't otherwise have a chance to land a superstar via free agency or in a trade.
Moreover, with several teams possibly entering the Flagg sweepstakes, it may be harder to finish towards the bottom of the standings. With that in mind, let's take a look at seven teams that should go all out and tank in 2024–25 for the chance to land Flagg.