Cooper Flagg is widely considered the presumed No. 1 NBA Draft pick this summer, but a couple of basketball experts have another candidate in mind.
Rutgers star Ace Bailey has a higher upside than Flagg, according to both Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George and former Stanford standout and current Fox analyst Casey Jacobsen.
“I think Ace Bailey is a little bit more raw talent with still a ton of upside,” George said on the latest edition of “Podcast P with Paul George.” “I think Cooper Flagg, not to say he doesn’t have upside, he has amazing upside as well but I think Ace Bailey has a little bit more upside to him.
“I think Ace Bailey can scratch a little bit more off of his surface than Cooper Flagg can. Which I think both will be All-Stars, both will be superstars once they develop and get to the NBA. I think both will be superstars. I think those two will definitely be the Magic Johnson and Larry Bird comparison in terms of similar body types and the parity between those two. But I’m going to go with Ace Bailey.”
Jacobsen echoed similar thoughts on Fox.
“I actually think that Cooper Flagg’s gonna go No. 2,” Jacbosen said.
“I think that Ace Bailey should be seriously considered by NBA general managers, and here’s why. While Cooper Flagg maybe has the higher floor, I think that Ace Bailey has the higher ceiling as a scorer. It wouldn’t surprise me at all in a couple years in a couple years if Ace Bailey is averaging 25-30 points per game as a scorer. He’s that talented offensively.”
For the season, Flagg is averaging 19.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists, while Bailey averages 18.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists.
Both ESPN.com and Tankathon.com have Flagg as the current No. 1, followed by Rutgers star Dylan Harper at 2 and Bailey at 3.
Some 25 NBA scouts, including two from the Brooklyn Nets, were in Piscataway Sunday night, when Harper went off for 25 points, 9 assists and 6 steals in a 95-85 win over USC.
Washington, New Orleans and Utah each have a 14% chance at the No. 1 pick, but one NBA executive pointed out that, “Both top teams with odds to acquire the 1st pick already have major players at Cooper and Ace’s position.”
The executive mentioned that Washington has Khris Middleton, Kyshawn George and Saddiq Bey, while New Orleans has Zion Williamson.
“I’m sure Washington would trade all to clear space for Cooper - but many teams do not have the room to take on those contracts,” the executive said.
“So much can happen between now and the draft.”
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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter and Basketball Insider for NJ Advance Media. You may follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and check out his Website at ZAGSBLOG.com.