The Ringer's Ryen Russillo revealed on May 11 that he is rooting for the Utah Jazz to get Cooper Flagg. Russillo is not a Jazz fan, so his reason for wanting Flagg to be in Utah boils down to one reason: he sees Flagg as a superstar who would stick around in Utah for the long haul.
On The Bill Simmons Podcast, Russillo detailed why he wants the Jazz to get the No. 1 pick so they can get Flagg.
"My argument for Utah and why I want them to win the lottery is this: Cooper Flagg in Salt Lake would be the most important piece for a franchise that needs it, considering all the challenges that they have faced historically in transactions," Russillo said. "What Utah needs is a guy that may want to actually stay in Utah for ten years."
Russillo further explained Utah's problem compared to other teams around the NBA, despite their competence as an organization, and why that makes it more important that they get Flagg.
"They're not going to be a destination in free agency... if you're trading for somebody, that's probably a small target of like who gets traded for that's a franchise-changing player that's like 'I'm here and I want to stay.' You're probably not going to be able to use your cap space on anybody, so you need somebody to come through.
"I think this is a great organization. Whether it's ownership, Ainge, Zanik, Hardy. The only way they're ever going to get somebody who is a franchise-changing player is to get a Cooper Flagg through the draft," Russillo said.
Utah has a history of stars leaving
It's true that the Jazz had two of the best NBA players of their era play their primes out in Utah, but what helped the Jazz on that front is that with Karl Malone and John Stockton built a playoff contender year in and year out.
Since then, the Jazz haven't had the best luck keeping their homegrown stars for the long haul. Deron Williams had a very public fallout with Jerry Sloan, which led to him going to the Nets at the deadline. Gordon Hayward bolted for Utah just after establishing himself as one of the NBA's best wings. Rudy Gobert never had a problem with Utah, but it was clear they had to move on.
With Donovan Mitchell, the Jazz may have traded him, but reading the tea leaves, it sounded like Mitchell was done with Utah regardless. Flagg's ceiling is projected to be higher than all of these Jazz alumni, which is why the Jazz not only need him, but it's a major priority for them to build the best team around him.
Flagg isn't a Jazzman, but if they get to draft him, he represents a brand new opportunity to start another glorious Jazz era for the first time since the Malone and Stockton days. As Russillo laid out, they wouldn't currently have a lot of better options out there to build a long-term contender than him.