Analyst says that Cooper Flagg should return to Duke next season if one of these two NBA teams land top pick

It's no secret that Duke basketball freshman phenom Cooper Flagg is the top prospect in this year's NBA Draft class. He's been dominant for the entirety of his rookie year in Durham and is viewed as one of the biggest "sure thing" prospects of the last few decades. His skills on both sides of the ball at six-foot-nine and 205 pounds will make him near impossible for whichever NBA team lands the top pick this summer to pass up on, even with Rutgers star freshmen Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper sparking some arguments for one of the two to be selected first overall.

But, one analyst thinks Flagg should pass up on the NBA Draft and spend another year at Duke if either the Washington Wizards or Charlotte Hornets land the top pick.

"Players have until June 15 to withdraw from the draft," On3 analyst Andy Staples said. "The lottery is on May 12...Team Flagg can send out all sorts of smoke signals. If the Wizards or Hornets win the lottery, they'd better trade the pick or the Maine event is headed back to Durham."

As more news arises of potential for Flagg to return to Duke for a sophomore campaign, it still seems extremely unlikely, even if Washington or Charlotte holds the first overall pick.

The Wizards (11-49) and the Hornets (14-46) are the two franchises at the bottom of the NBA. What it seems like Staples is suggesting is that Flagg leverage his decision to return to Duke or go to the NBA Draft if either of the two clubs hold the rights to draft him first overall.

Both teams are likely far away from doing any significant winning. Charlotte has young talent like Brandon Miller and Lamelo Ball, and the Wizards drafted Alex Sarr with the second overall pick in 2024. Either way, it seems much more likely than not both teams will remain at the bottom of the NBA standings next season.

However, there are some teams that could potentially land the first pick that are closer to competing, such as the Philadelphia 76ers, New Orleans Pelicans, or Toronto Raptors.

Even if Flagg has the ability to use leverage after the NBA Draft lottery to keep himself from ending up in Charlotte or Washington, it would still be an utter shock if Flagg decided to come back to Durham. The money would be a massive thing to pass up on.

Per Sourav Kalita of Essentially Sports, "By staying in college, Flagg would delay signing a rookie max contract, which could be worth up to $398.5 million over five years. That's nearly $80 million a season if we're talking about the 2024-25 salary cap and a 10% increase."

Additionally, Flagg would have possibly even tougher competition to be selected first in 2026, with star-studded freshmen AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson coming into college next season.

Even with all of the noise of Flagg's possible return for a sophomore season, it's still almost a zero-percent chance it would ever happen.