3 Groups That May Land NBA’s No. 1 Select: The place Will Cooper Flagg Be Drafted?

Painful. Miserable. Dull.

There are many adjectives to explain gazing your favourite NBA group tank in hopes of successful the primary total select within the subsequent draft lottery.

Any sliver of optimism you had sooner than the season is long past by means of Thanksgiving. Your group is at house on Christmas, similar to you, as a result of the ones show off video games are reserved for squads which might be in reality watchable.

March Insanity rekindles your pastime for basketball simply sufficient to get you via April because the distress in any case ends.

However hope returns in Might. 

The draft lottery provides one fortunate franchise first dibs on the attainable savior it desperately wishes. And in any case the struggling you’ve persevered during the last six-plus months, you already know that no group and no fanbase merits that high select greater than yours. That is your yr.

After all, the lottery and its randomness don’t care about who merits it maximum. However with that mentioned, listed below are 3 groups that may indisputably be within the combine when the highest total select is drawn subsequent yr on Might 12.

Washington Wizards

I realize it’s a longshot, however I in point of fact would now not be shocked if the Washington Commanders end with extra wins of their 17 regular-season video games than the Wizards do all through 82 contests at the hardwood.

Washington went 15-67 remaining yr and enters the brand new marketing campaign with a forged of uncooked, younger gamers who will take their percentage of lumps amid what’s going to most probably be every other lengthy season within the country’s capital.

No. 2 total select Alex Sarr has a lot to end up after the 7-footer struggled within the Las Vegas Summer season League, whilst fellow learners Bub Carrington and Kyshawn George will goal to turn into dependable shooters as they settle into the professionals.

Jonas Valanciunas and Malcolm Brogdon are no less than decent additions that may sign up for returning veterans Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole. Brogdon will leave out no less than the beginning of the season after having surgical procedure on his thumb, however that in point of fact doesn’t make a lot of a distinction. Possibly the Wizards will most effective win 12 video games as an alternative of 13.

There’s a good probability that Brogdon, Valanciunas and Kuzma can be traded mid-season, leaving Poole in the back of to persuade the tank towards every other lottery select. 

Brooklyn Nets

Coming off a 32-50 marketing campaign, the Nets have quite a lot of incentive to tank apart from a roster that doesn’t reasonably scream Jap Convention name contender.

Along with its personal first-round select, Brooklyn owns a top-4 safe choose from Milwaukee. That implies the Nets will obtain the Greenbacks’ variety so long as Milwaukee’s draft slot falls between Nos. 5 and 30. For the reason that the Greenbacks have made the playoffs in every of the remaining 8 seasons, it’s a gorgeous protected guess that Brooklyn will land that select. 

The Nets additionally personal the New York Knicks’ first-round variety, without reference to the place that falls, and can obtain an extra first-round choose from both the Oklahoma Town Thunder, Houston Rockets or Phoenix Suns.

As for the present squad, Brooklyn already traded Mikal Bridges to the Knicks and can most probably deal cast veterans like Cameron Johnson, Dennis Schroder and Dorian Finney-Smith all over the season. In case you couldn’t inform, the dedication to successful is low.

Even supposing Ben Simmons in any case delivers a robust marketing campaign amid his treacherous tenure up to now with the Nets, Brooklyn must be well-situated to probably win the coveted height select come Might.

Utah Jazz

The Jazz dedicated to All-Megastar Lauri Markkanen by means of a 5-year, $238 million extension, however Utah stays riddled with inexperience. 

The roster contains six youngsters, and competing within the robust Western Convention will most effective steepen the training curve for the younger forged of members. The Jazz completed 31-51 remaining season and must undergo every other lean yr as its adolescence develops. 

Utah already owns each the Minnesota Timberwolves’ and Cleveland Cavaliers’ first-round alternatives. The Jazz will stay every other first-rounder in the event that they slot inside the height 10 within the draft order, so there’s in point of fact no reason why to take a look at and overachieve. 

A playoff berth is basically off the desk, so why now not tank and check out to safe the highest total select for the primary time in franchise historical past?