This just in: Vernon Maxwell loves to troll both the Utah Jazz and their fanbase whenever he can. It doesn't matter what the Jazz-related subject is. Give the man credit: he's consistent.
The subject this time was Cooper Flagg. As everyone knows, the Jazz tanked their season in their hopes of getting the No. 1 pick, which would inevitably be Flagg no questions asked. When asked about the prospect of the Jazz getting Flagg, Maxwell had this to say.
“That’s what they do,” he told Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson. “They send them white boys over there. When’s the last time Utah drafted a black player? Do that!”
The Jazz drafted two black players in the 2024 NBA Draft. They drafted Kyle Filipowski too, a white player, but Filipowski was the first white player the Jazz drafted since 2018 when they picked Grayson Allen, who was only on the team for a year before they included him in the trade package for Mike Conley.
Honestly, this is all just trolling from Maxwell, so no one should take offense to this because it's nothing malicious. However, his comments highlight something worth noting, not necessarily about Flagg, but how the Jazz should approach the draft in general.
The Jazz will take the best player available no matter what
The Jazz made sure they got the highest odds to draft Cooper Flagg at 14%. They also made sure that they had the best odds of not getting screwed over in the draft by getting the worst record in the league. Doing so makes sure that their pick doesn't fall further than No. 5.
Whether their efforts to get Flagg pay off in the end or not, it may not matter where the Jazz draft. Simply put, they will take the guy who they think will be their next franchise player. Sure, Flagg is undoubtedly the one player in this draft who is a guaranteed perennial star in the making, but several other prospects could be a franchise player, even if that might not be right away.
That's why this year's draft inspired plenty of teams to throw their season away. Flagg might be the golden goose that only one team will come away with in the end, but there are plenty of consolation prizes that teams should and will be more than comfortable taking.
Even if the Jazz don't win the Flagg sweepstakes, they can't really lose in this draft either.