The Life of Flagg

I think what makes Cooper super special is his sheer competitiveness and his drive for greatness. It's off the charts. So while anyone can make a reasonable argument for staying in college for most players (plenty of money while still getting to be a kid is a big one in my mind), but the single reason I don't see him even considering staying is that I bet he would want to play amongst the best every day. Just like high school would have been "boring" to him this year (as his mother said), so would college next year. It's not the money or the fame...the appeal to want to play with and against the best in the world every single day is the biggest draw to the NBA and the main reason he won't actually consider staying. Just my opinion, of course.
 
duke79 said:
It's a nice fantasy, BUT Coop ain't coming back. I'd say there is a 0.000000000000000000000000000001% chance he returns to Durham next season. It reminds me of a few years ago when some people on this board had the fantasy that Arch Manning might come play football at Duke.
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Wow I thought he was off to the NBA for sure. But you’re saying there’s a chance? I’m getting excited now
 
Flagg for sure ain't coming back, but is it possible for a player to earn more NIL money than a first year lottery rookie contract? I'm guessing no but who knows during these times. Looks like he is currently estimated at close to $5 million in NIL with Archie manning at around $6.6 million. I guess it technically could be possible. NBA lottery picks make around $10-12 million plus endorsements. The sport might see somebody surprisingly stay at some point in the next few years.
 
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wgl1228 said:
Flagg for sure ain't coming back, but is it possible for a player to earn more NIL money than a first year lottery rookie contract? I'm guessing no but who knows during these times. Looks like he is currently estimated at close to $5 million in NIL with Archie manning at around $6.6 million. I guess it technically could be possible.
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Yes, it's definitely possible but the calculus is more for fringe first rounders/second rounders now who can sometimes earn more in college than NBA/G league. And for those undrafted players, it's not even close anymore, way more money in college.

For someone like Flagg, not really going to happen. But #1 recruit next year is supposedly making $5M at BYU .... But these contracts aren't public, so we don't have great data.
 
coldriver10 said:
I think what makes Cooper super special is his sheer competitiveness and his drive for greatness. It's off the charts. So while anyone can make a reasonable argument for staying in college for most players (plenty of money while still getting to be a kid is a big one in my mind), but the single reason I don't see him even considering staying is that I bet he would want to play amongst the best every day. Just like high school would have been "boring" to him this year (as his mother said), so would college next year. It's not the money or the fame...the appeal to want to play with and against the best in the world every single day is the biggest draw to the NBA and the main reason he won't actually consider staying. Just my opinion, of course.
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There is a notable example of Cooper opting to NOT play against the best in favor of having fun. In his last EYBL year, he opted to play with his age group, which he absolutely dominated, instead of playing with older age division.

Having said that, let's be real. He's not staying.
 
wgl1228 said:
Flagg for sure ain't coming back, but is it possible for a player to earn more NIL money than a first year lottery rookie contract? I'm guessing no but who knows during these times. Looks like he is currently estimated at close to $5 million in NIL with Archie manning at around $6.6 million. I guess it technically could be possible. NBA lottery picks make around $10-12 million plus endorsements. The sport might see somebody surprisingly stay at some point in the next few years.
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Yes, but you are subjecting yourself to one more year under the rookie salary cap, and delaying your turn at a max contract. Not gonna happen.
 
MChambers said:
Yes, but you are subjecting yourself to one more year under the rookie salary cap, and delaying your turn at a max contract. Not gonna happen.
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Plus, I'm guessing if you're good enough to be a lottery pick, you probably think you're good enough to move up to the next level of basketball. And why not "ply" your trade full-time, rather than be subject to the annoyances of being a student-athlete (HA!) and having to attend class and do homework and take exams and write papers (assuming any top Div. 1 basketball players actually do this while in school).
 
duke79 said:
Plus, I'm guessing if you're good enough to be a lottery pick, you probably think you're good enough to move up to the next level of basketball. And why not "ply" your trade full-time, rather than be subject to the annoyances of being a student-athlete (HA!) and having to attend class and do homework and take exams and write papers (assuming any top Div. 1 basketball players actually do this while in school).
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Largely agree, but to play devil's advocate, living in a dorm surrounded by smart, interesting kids your age (half of whom are female), taking classes (some people actually enjoy learning, particularly when there is no stress to get good grades), enjoying everything else a top university has to offer, not having to spend half your life in random hotels in Sacramento, Portland, Milwaukee, etc. after playing back-to-backs isn't the worst thing in the world either.
 
MChambers said:
Yes, but you are subjecting yourself to one more year under the rookie salary cap, and delaying your turn at a max contract. Not gonna happen.
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This is the bigger issue. It isn't the comparison of Year One NBA versus Year Two NIL. It's getting to that absurd huge contract one year sooner. Any economics major wouldn't pause on that particular calculus.

But the hearts of 18 year olds can be capricious.
 
CrazyNotCrazie said:
Largely agree, but to play devil's advocate, living in a dorm surrounded by smart, interesting kids your age (half of whom are female), taking classes (some people actually enjoy learning, particularly when there is no stress to get good grades), enjoying everything else a top university has to offer, not having to spend half your life in random hotels in Sacramento, Portland, Milwaukee, etc. after playing back-to-backs isn't the worst thing in the world either.
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I suspect that the hotel that Flagg will stay in when visiting Milwaukee is much much nicer than the one I would check in to.
 
CrazyNotCrazie said:
Largely agree, but to play devil's advocate, living in a dorm surrounded by smart, interesting kids your age (half of whom are female), taking classes (some people actually enjoy learning, particularly when there is no stress to get good grades), enjoying everything else a top university has to offer, not having to spend half your life in random hotels in Sacramento, Portland, Milwaukee, etc. after playing back-to-backs isn't the worst thing in the world either.
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I hear what you're saying, CNC, and that SHOULD be the case for many of these young student athletes, if they have any academic motivations. College should be the best time of your life and the NBA lifestyle has to be somewhat harsh and depressing for some of these young "kids". But, as we have seen even at Duke, not many who are projected to be first round picks, never mind lottery picks, bother to stick around. I hope, maybe, NIL and other financial incentives may change that situation for at least a few players.
 
Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15 said:
I suspect that the hotel that Flagg will stay in when visiting Milwaukee is much much nicer than the one I would check in to.
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You're right about that. On the other hand, it's haunted.

www.mlb.com

Scary stories from baseball's haunted hotel

A version of this appeared on Oct. 31, 2020 There should be plenty of spine tingling baseball adventures today as the Braves and Astros play Game 5 of the World Series (after all, what's more frightening than the pitcher who came from the bullpen!), but if you want some real
www.mlb.com www.mlb.com
 
JNort said:
The NBA blows college ball out of the water and it’s not close. Even watching isn’t bad, people are just tired of threes which will probably be corrected at some point. Heck the NBA today could have a case for being better than anytime prior to 2010. The talent level is so high now that you can turn on almost any game and be entertained whereas back in the day there was 4-5 good teams and maybe 2-3 watchable ones after that. Now I’d say 20+ teams are watchable nightly and we have 6-8 great teams. Guys today are so much better than they used to be.
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The skill level throughout the league is higher, although the absolute top players in years past were just as skilled. But they were better players because the NBA game was better and the talent not as diluted as it is today. All we have today is guys who run, jump, dunk better than in the past. Casting 40-60 30’ shots a game is an admission there is not good player and ball movement. Why are ratings so far down? Shaq defined why-the game is boring.
 
soflabluedevil said:
The skill level throughout the league is higher, although the absolute top players in years past were just as skilled. But they were better players because the NBA game was better and the talent not as diluted as it is today. All we have today is guys who run, jump, dunk better than in the past. Casting 40-60 30’ shots a game is an admission there is not good player and ball movement. Why are ratings so far down? Shaq defined why-the game is boring.
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Good god no. The talent level across entire rosters is massively improved, not just the top end. It’s “boring” because rules were changed to give people what they wanted. Surprise! People don’t actually know what they like or what’s good for them. The rules will tilt back again like they always do. Even this version of “boring” is still more exciting than basketball in the 90s through the late 00s that focused on isolation and non movement. The 60s-70s had movement but too much focus on paint play and awful defense. 80s had a decent balance of most things but the talent level was incredibly low during the decade outside of top end talent. Today are the best defenders, shooters, and ball handlers but they shoot too much. Ball movement while not perfect is solid for most teams.
 
CrazyNotCrazie said:
Largely agree, but to play devil's advocate, living in a dorm surrounded by smart, interesting kids your age (half of whom are female), taking classes (some people actually enjoy learning, particularly when there is no stress to get good grades), enjoying everything else a top university has to offer, not having to spend half your life in random hotels in Sacramento, Portland, Milwaukee, etc. after playing back-to-backs isn't the worst thing in the world either.
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You left out Oklahoma City; my least favorite destination.
 
CrazyNotCrazie said:
Largely agree, but to play devil's advocate, living in a dorm surrounded by smart, interesting kids your age (half of whom are female), taking classes (some people actually enjoy learning, particularly when there is no stress to get good grades), enjoying everything else a top university has to offer, not having to spend half your life in random hotels in Sacramento, Portland, Milwaukee, etc. after playing back-to-backs isn't the worst thing in the world either.
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Portland and Milwaukee are quite nice…

Actually Sacramento is more active and fun than most people think. Being the state capital, there is a relatively vibrant social scene if you know where to find it.
 
soflabluedevil said:
The skill level throughout the league is higher, although the absolute top players in years past were just as skilled. But they were better players because the NBA game was better and the talent not as diluted as it is today. All we have today is guys who run, jump, dunk better than in the past. Casting 40-60 30’ shots a game is an admission there is not good player and ball movement. Why are ratings so far down? Shaq defined why-the game is boring.
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Players today are bigger, stronger, faster. They are better shooters, better defenders (within the context of the rules). They have longer careers, more stamina.

I guess if you want to criticize offensive sets compared to 25 years ago you can, but it's also based off data and statistics and maximizes efficiency.

You can say the NBA game isn't compelling to you. You can say that you miss physical defense. You can say three pointers are boring. Those are all subjective assessments.

But you'll be hard to find objective information to support a statement that NBA players were better in years past.
 
Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15 said:
Players today are bigger, stronger, faster. They are better shooters, better defenders (within the context of the rules). They have longer careers, more stamina.

I guess if you want to criticize offensive sets compared to 25 years ago you can, but it's also based off data and statistics and maximizes efficiency.

You can say the NBA game isn't compelling to you. You can say that you miss physical defense. You can say three pointers are boring. Those are all subjective assessments.

But you'll be hard to find objective information to support a statement that NBA players were better in years past.
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If you've been paying attention to the NBA (or any professional sport) for awhile, you know there is a massive difference between the preparation and training players conduct today versus years past.

Players used to show up to training camp out of shape, having hardly played ball for months. Today, they are logging daily workouts year-round with personal trainers. It used to be newsworthy when MJ put on some muscle in the off-season, or Kobe took x number of jump shots every day. Now, those kinds of things are table stakes.

And it stands to reason. There are tens (hundreds, really) of millions of reasons for players to prove their worth. And they act like it.
 
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