Before getting to the Utah Jazz stuff, let's all wish Cooper Flagg a speedy recovery after he suffered a nasty ankle sprain. That injury may keep him out of March Madness, which is very unfortunate, but it would be surprising if it hurts his draft stock in the end.
The Jazz are doing everything in their power to ensure their high lottery odds, and if they succeed in getting the No. 1 pick, there's no doubt that Flagg would be their pick, pending any Chris-Webber-for-Penny-Hardaway-esque twist come draft night.
Flagg has been hyped as a franchise player for some time, though it's up in the air whether he will live up to that until he faces NBA competition. There's been a wide spectrum of NBA player comparisons for Flagg. Bleacher Report's draft experts picked out five players who they believed Flagg plays like. One of them being esteemed Jazz alum Andrei Kirilenko.
"The Duke product has reminded scouts of the former NBA Star and All-NBA Defender with how quickly he's able to anticipate, cover ground, make plays and guard different positions," they wrote.
They added that Flagg turning into Kirilenko 2.0 is the "best-case outcome defensively" but the "worst-case outcome offensively."
Kirilenko was an NBA player who is looked back on pretty fondly and not just by Jazz fans. He has been hailed as a player whose skillset and versatility made him a player who was ahead of his time. Kirilenko himself has talked about how flattered he is by this sentiment.
It's better for Flagg to be compared to Kirilenko than say, Darko Milicic. However, if that's what Flagg pans out to be, that's bad news for Utah if they get the No. 1 pick.
Why this is not a flattering comparison for the Jazz
The Jazz have plenty of players who will round out as solid rotation players for a playoff team. Among their young players, the closest one to a star is Walker Kessler, who is quite good, but believing he could make an All-Star team is pretty optimistic for now. Utah needs that franchise centerpiece, which is the bar for Flagg and why the Jazz have finally embraced themselves as a tanker this year.
If Flagg turns out to be a player who makes his team tougher to beat, like Kirilenko, but not a franchise player who could make them contenders for years to come, that's a problem because that's not what the Jazz are in the market for.
Let's be clear that there's nothing wrong with Flagg having a career much like Kirilenko. Far from it, in fact. Kirilenko was an excellent cog on those Jazz teams in the 2000s. It means he'll have a prosperous career and be a useful asset on a winner. For everything Kirilenko was, he was never close to being among the NBA's elite.
In Utah, they don't want guys who can raise their floor. They want franchise players who can raise their ceiling. Quite a few excellent players are coming out this year, but Flagg is the ultimate prize for the Jazz, just like every other tanker.
Luckily, it's only a projection. That same piece mentioned that another NBA comparison for Flagg is Kevin Garnett, one of the best players of his era. Like Kirilenko, Garnett would have been even better in today's NBA than when he played. If Flagg turns into Garnett, that's the home run the Jazz need. If Flagg turns into Kirilenko, that's a single that is a step in the right direction, but doesn't help too much.