Potential Nets' Draft Target Contemplating Returning to College

The prize of the 2025 NBA Draft may have just thrown a kink in multiple teams' plans, including the Brooklyn Nets.

In a recent interview with The Athletic, projected top-overall selection Cooper Flagg revealed a stunning reality about his basketball future.

"Sh—, I want to come back next year," he said, expressing his desire to forego the NBA in hopes of returning for his sophomore campaign at Duke. "This is the only way I’ve ever known college. That’s how I see it. I really wouldn’t know how kids felt before, and if this feels different, if this feels more like being a professional. I mean, it’s the same thing for kids in high school, too, getting paid a lot of money. I don’t know. I feel pretty normal."

While Flagg's announcement likely impacts franchises with worse records than the Nets, who are now on the brink of a play-in spot after a hot start to the month of February, the declaration has the capacity to shake up the entire league's landscape.

After a shallow 2024 NBA Draft, Flagg was regarded as a prospect on par with Zion Williamson in 2019 and LeBron James in 2003. The 18-year-old has the Blue Devils ranked third in the nation while looking to lift the blue-blood to its first national title since 2015.

“I always wanted to play in college at the highest level and compete for a national championship," Flagg continued. "That sort of thing is what I dreamed about.”

If Brooklyn's midseason turnaround comes to an abrupt end and the organization finds itself back in place to secure a lottery selection, the Nets' draft board could vastly change. General manager Sean Marks has made multiple trips to Rutgers University to watch Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, so there's a possibility Flagg wasn't Brooklyn's preferred prospect regardless.

We're still only in mid-February, and there's much basketball left to play in the 2024-25 NCAA season. It's entirely possible the results of March Madness could influence Flagg's decision, but his proclamataion will have teams scrambling to come up with a backup plan should he opt to remain at Duke instead of taking his talents to the NBA.

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