| The NBA draft lottery always arrives like a smack on the arm. I’m locked in on the playoffs every night, drinking in the current stars of the league, living for the drama of the last-minute comebacks — what in the Larry Bird is going on in Boston? — and thwack! The lottery arrives, and I’m jolted out of my stupor and forced to think about the future. So: Let’s look ahead, shall we? Monday’s lottery to determine the order of June’s NBA draft boils down to one thing: which team will draw the rights to draft the 18-year-old phenom Cooper Flagg out of Duke. The Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets each have a 14 percent chance at landing the top pick — the best odds in the lottery — but are those teams the right landing place for the man who could be Duke’s best NBA prospect ever? No! Of course not! Here are the five most intriguing spots for Flagg. 5. Portland Trail Blazers Lottery position: 10. Odds of winning the lottery: 3.7 percent. I do not want to see Flagg in the Western Conference, which is already bloated with stars and far outweighs the East competitively. But the Blazers’ post-Damian Lillard rebuild is headed in the right direction, and Portland has a young core with one of the highest ceilings in the league thanks to Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe and center Donovan Clingan, the big man from those 2023 and 2024 U-Conn. championship teams. I would like to watch Flagg, Clingan and Toumani Camara play defense together, thank you. 4. San Antonio Spurs Lottery position: Eight. Odds of winning the lottery: Six percent. Again, I do not want to see Flagg in the Western Conference. I’d also like to see him go up against Victor Wembanyama rather than play alongside him, I think, but there’s no denying the Spurs are the best basketball fit thanks to Wembanyama’s presence, with a front office that knows a thing or two about pairing two bigs together. 3. Houston Rockets Lottery position: Nine (via Phoenix). Odds of winning the lottery: 3.8 percent. I promise, I do not want to see Flagg in the Western Conference. But Houston has such an intriguing young core already and so many future first-round picks headed its way, which gives it flexibility to build, that I’m salivating at the thought of this. Or! Would landing Flagg somehow convince Giannis Antetokounmpo to maneuver his way to Houston? 2. Brooklyn Nets Lottery position: Six. Odds of winning the lottery: Nine percent. Brooklyn was delightfully scrappy this season despite tanking at the finish (excuse me, prioritizing draft position) and has a boatload of first-round picks headed its way in years to come. The Nets are in a great market with the cap space and flexibility to build around Flagg as they see fit. 1. Washington Wizards Lottery position: Two. Odds of winning the lottery: 14 percent. The Wizards have been deliberately plodding along at their rebuild, drafting interesting young role players and rebuilding the franchise inside and out for the past few years. Landing Flagg would electrify a basketball-loving city, and just as importantly, he’d be such a fun rising star alongside the Washington Commanders’ Jayden Daniels — with zero pressure to produce immediately. | 
_tstmp_1697552896-700-303.png)
