Draft Grades? Nah — Here’s the Real Talk on Every Pick That Mattered

📍 Cooper Flagg: A Lock at No. 1… But Chill on the Bird Comparisons

I’m going to keep it real with you all.

Cooper Flagg going No. 1 to the Mavs was always going to happen. That man could’ve missed every shot at the Combine, and he still would’ve been first off the board.

And rightfully so.

Flagg is a freakish athlete with a high motor, defensive instincts, and a jumper that’s evolving.

But here’s my issue: the hype is already out of control. Folks are calling him the “next Larry Bird”? Some are even whispering LeBron comparisons?

🚫 Let’s stop the madness.

I see more of a taller, bouncier Andrei Kirilenko than I do a generational GOAT. Let him develop before you all anoint him the savior of white American basketball.

That said… if the Mavs can get healthy—and that’s a big if—they’re going to be a PROBLEM.

Picture this:

• Kyrie (once he returns from injury)

• Klay Thompson

• Cooper Flagg

• Anthony Davis

• Dereck Lively II

  
  

Bench? Gafford, PJ Washington, and them boys are still lurking.

Man, that’s nasty.

And let me add this:

Sign Chris Paul. 

Let CP3 run the floor until Kyrie is 100%.

Flagg would learn more in one year from Paul than five years of AAU ball.

🧠 San Antonio Spurs: I Just Don’t Get It

Let me say this clearly: I believe Dylan Harper is going to be a very good NBA player. Maybe even great. But why—and I mean why—are the Spurs taking another ball-dominant guard when they just landed Stephon Castle and traded for De’Aaron Fox?

That’s like buying three GPS systems for one car. It doesn’t make sense!

I would’ve taken Ace Bailey and never looked back.

Bailey’s a 6’9” scoring wing who can run with Wemby and cover all the holes on the wing. Instead, San Antonio went with another point guard.

If I’m the Spurs? I’m calling Milwaukee with the No. 2 pick, No. 14, Sochan, Vassell, and even Harrison Barnes in a package for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Go all in.

Swing for the fences.

🤦🏽 Philly Missed the Moment Too

The Sixers had Ace Bailey sitting right there at No. 3. Instead, they went with VJ Edgecombe—a strong player, no doubt, but Bailey has future star written all over him.

Edgecombe’s a solid two-way wing, but when you’ve got Joel Embiid and a roster that’s built to win now, you don’t pass on star upside like Ace Bailey.

That’s not team building.

That’s playing scared.

🔥 New Orleans Quietly Dominated

Y’all are sleeping on the Pelicans—and I won’t let it happen.

They walked away with two absolute gems:

• Jeremiah Fears, the cold-blooded Oklahoma guard with serious Kyrie Irving energy.

• Derik Queen, the Black Nikola Jokic—and yes, I said it.

Fears has that shake, that handle, that “give me the ball, I got it” attitude.

Queen?

That man’s footwork, vision, and post moves are already grown-man certified.

Zion, Queen, Fears, Poole?

Woo-wee.

😬 Ace Bailey to Utah? Messy Fit

Now let me be honest. I love Ace Bailey’s game. But the Jazz? That isn’t where he wanted to be.

His team made it clear—he preferred Brooklyn or Washington.

But Utah drafted him anyway.

Now don’t get me wrong—Bailey, paired with Walter Clayton Jr., could work. And if you look at the rest of the roster—Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, Keyonte George — you see a young squad that could surprise people.

But if Bailey isn’t bought in emotionally? Trouble’s ahead.

💬 Final Word

The league’s next generation is here. Cooper Flagg may be the headliner, but don’t sleep on what the Pelicans, Jazz, and Spurs just did.

But that’s the NBA Draft for you.

Some get it right.

Some get cute.

And some?

Some just get caught up in the moment.