Ranking the NBA teams in the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes

The Duke freshman has been making a name for himself this college season, and as NBA teams start to hit the middle of their season, teams are fully embracing tanking for the chance to draft what could be a franchise star. 

Here are the top five teams in the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes (all records as of Wednesday):

Brooklyn Nets (14-27)

The aforementioned Nets are showing the rest of the league how to truly tank. It's not just the 59-point losses, it's also taking on any bad contract (looking at you Ben Simmons and D'Angelo Russell) and trading away any talent they had for future assets, such as flipping Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton to the Lakers just to take on Russell's contract and three future second-round picks. 

While the Nets' 14 wins are a fair bit more than the other teams on this list, a second-half season swoon could see Flagg land in the Big Apple.

Utah Jazz (10-29)

Since trading away Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert in 2022, the Jazz are looking down the barrel of their third consecutive losing season. While the Jazz's roster isn't completely devoid of talent — such as former All-Star Lauri Markkanen — the organization is clearly in rebuild mode. Talented veterans like Jordan Clarkson and John Collins have missed almost half of Utah's games this year and its current roster is made up almost entirely of young players who aren't ready to compete this year. 

And yet, despite all this Utah only has the fifth-worst record in the league, and as of right now is on the outside looking in of winning the lottery. 

Toronto Raptors (10-31)

North of the border, the Raptors are participating in some inspired tanking. Despite a nice win against the slumping Celtics on Wednesday, the Raptors are still one of the worst teams in the league. the Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett-led roster has struggled to compete, notably posting a 1-18 record on the road this season. 

Injuries have also played a role in the Raptors dismal season, with Immanuel Quickley only playing nine games this year after re-signing for five years and $175M this offseason. The Raptors look to be in prime position to secure the No. 1 pick for the second time in franchise history. 

Charlotte Hornets (9-28)

While the Hornets have been a fun watch this season, led by Lamelo Ball's carefree, fast and loose playing style, the actual on-court product has not translated to winning basketball. President of basketball operations Jeff Peterson said the team will 'listen to everything' ahead of the upcoming trade deadline, according to the Charlotte Observer's Roderick Boone. 

As the Hornets look to be sellers at the deadline, their .243 winning percentage could get even worse, and the chances of Flagg staying in North Carolina for his pro career could get even better. 

Washington Wizards (6-32)

There is truly no team in the NBA tanking like the Washington Wizards. They have the worst record in the league (6-32), the worst offensive rating in the league (105.1), and the worst defensive rating in the league (118.6) per NBA advanced stats. Their only young prospects of note are two Frenchman, guard Bilal Coulibaly and 2024 No. 2 pick Alex Sarr, neither of which have been particularly remarkable this season.

If there's any team that needs a franchise-saving player like Flagg, it's the Wizards, and they're playing like it.