Brotherhood Draft Watch: Chris Paul Is Sold On Cooper Flagg

Paul says he’s the real deal.

As we have said several times leading up to the NBA Draft, a lot of what you get from teams and team executives is gamesmanship. You might talk one player down to the media, in hopes that he might fall and you could get him. Alternatively, you might talk another player up in hopes that some other sucker team takes him and you can get the player you actually want.

It’s what you do when you can’t actually change your circumstances directly: you game the system and, well, use what amounts to psychological warfare.

And while you can’t necessarily put a lot of stock in what franchise reps and execs say, and you certainly can’t take anonymous sources very seriously, what you should listen to are knowledgeable individuals when they express an opinion on a player.

And while we’ve heard some wildly divergent opinions from NBA players on Duke’s Cooper Flagg, you should probably take Chris Paul’s opinion seriously.

And what does Paul say about Flagg, who Dallas will almost certainly take with the #1 pick I the draft later this month?

This, on the Pat McAfee show: “I‘m just like everybody else: I’m a fan. I was at home in L.A., and I was watching the ping-pong balls like everybody, and when I saw the Spurs pop into the top four, we were going crazy. Guys on my team (in the) group chat, we were like, ‘What is about to happen?’ I’m in L.A. right now, and Cooper Flagg has been out there. I’ve been in the gym with him a couple of times, or whatnot. He is as real as advertised.”

It’s worth noting that Paul, who spent last season with the San Antonio Spurs, is a free agent and Dallas has been mentioned as a possible destination. Now 40, it’s amazing that Paul at just 6-0 is still a viable NBA player, even though his best years are clearly behind him.

He could be a valuable mentor for Dallas and Flagg, who is a much of a guard as he is a forward.

What he really is is a basketball player who can do almost anything on the court. Paul could really advance his NBA maturation.