@SkinWade
I’ve been thinking about starting Cooper Flagg in the backcourt and having him bring it up. Kidd is the guy that turned Giannis into a point-something-or-other – 6:33 PM

Joe Cowley @JCowleyHoops
Chicago sports and a coin toss:
1970 – Lost out to the Steelers and the No. 1 pick Terry Bradshaw
1979 – Lost to the Lakers and the No. 1 pick Magic Johnson
2025 – Lost to the Mavs and the soon-to-be No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg pic.x.com/KUbXCPZHnk – 7:39 AM

Melissa Rohlin @melissarohlin
Movie proposal: After winning the NBA Finals, Haliburton retires and becomes an investigative reporter who devotes his life to unearthing the names of the guys who voted him as overrated. – 9:54 PM

Adam Aaronson @SixersAdam
I think the Beam Team moment vanishing is going to give new life to the understanding of how horrifying it is that the Kings traded Haliburton – 9:52 PM

Scott Agness @ScottAgness
The Pacers — underdogs in all five games — beat the top-seeded Cavs 114-105 to finish the series 4-1 and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight season. NY or BOS next.
They last did that in 2013, 2014.
Tyrese Haliburton led them with 31-6-8. – 9:41 PM

Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
Games like this are why I love the playoffs. Backs against the wall. The 3’s aren’t falling for a team that made its shots all season long. And the Cavs are still fighting, still finding ways to generate offense, taking all of these punches from Haliburton. This rules. – 8:21 PM

Scott Agness @ScottAgness
Pacers were outplayed in the 1st after the Cavs hit first and went up by 19. IND down 56-52 at half.
But then deep shots started falling for the Pacers and changed everything. They’re +21 from range. Haliburton has 17pts (5/6 from 3) and three others have 9. – 8:16 PM

Danny Cunningham @RealDCunningham
#Cavs lead the Pacers 56-52 at the break.
Tyrese Haliburton hit five 3s in the second quarter and nearly erased a 19-point lead. Cavs have made just one 3-pointer on the night so far.
Donovan Mitchell leads the Cavs with 16 points and Evan Mobley has 14. – 8:16 PM

Scott Agness @ScottAgness
That’s nine straight points from Haliburton — three 3s — and it’s just the jolt the Pacers needed.
Cavs had the edge early, pressuring and being physical early. Good IND response after trailing by 12 after 1 – 8:10 PM

Nate Duncan @NateDuncanNBA
Jarrett Allen has looked out of it since Turner blocked his shot. Just asleep on what should have been an obvious switch onto Haliburton and he gets a wide open 3. – 8:06 PM

Chris Fedor @ChrisFedor
Very very #Cavs-friendly whistle thus far. No one can complain about it tonight. Pacers forced to manage foul trouble for both Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner. Each with two fouls. – 7:38 PM

Danny Cunningham @RealDCunningham
Tyrese Haliburton back on the floor for the Pacers with two fouls. I would imagine the Cavs are going to involve him in every action for a bit here. – 7:27 PM

Scott Agness @ScottAgness
Haliburton called for his second foul 5mins into the game. Mathurin checks in to loud boos from Cavs fans.
I can tell you he’s fired up and eager to respond tonight. – 7:16 PM

Kerry Eggers @kerryeggers
Add Cooper Flagg to a @dallasmavs roster that will include Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Derrick Lively, Daniel Gafford, Naji Marshall, Klay Thompson & P.J. Washington & what do have?
An instant title contender.
Nico Harrison must have been sleeping in a bed of four-leaf clovers. – 12:07 PM

Gerald Bourguet @GeraldBourguet
The NBA Draft Lottery has spoken, but how will Cooper Flagg, Giannis and that No. 10 Suns pick going to the Rockets affect Kevin Durant’s trade market? Here are a BUNCH of hypothetical trades, featuring dark horse suitors and crazy 3-team deals: bit.ly/43eWJCM – 12:03 PM

Erik Slater @erikslater_
Max vertical jump results for projected top picks in today’s first combine group:
1. VJ Edgecombe: 38.5 in
2. Tre Johnson: 37.5 in
3. Dylan Harper: 36.5 in
4. Cooper Flagg: 35.5 in
5. Ace Bailey: 34.5 in
6. Khaman Maluach: 30.0 in
7. Derik Queen: 28.0 in – 11:34 AM

Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
Something I just realized is that the Rockets, Spurs and Thunder all have slightly less to trade now than they did a few hours ago.
All of them controlled future Mavericks picks that looked really valuable before Cooper Flagg showed up. – 11:51 PM

Brad Townsend @townbrad
Finally done writing tonight (I think) and just realized: Cooper Flagg and Paige Bueckers. You gotta be kidding me. – 10:25 PM

Mark Giannotto @mgiannotto
The Dallas Mavericks could do the funniest thing and pick someone other than Cooper Flagg because “defense wins championships” – 10:15 PM

Ted Davis @nbated
1.8% chance to win the NBA Lottery the Mavs get the 1st pick! Wow! The odds? The Knicks got the first pick in 1985 with the David Stern frozen envelope! Let the conspiracy theories begin. Sorta makes the Fans forget about that other THING! Cooper Flagg better a Nowitski and Luka. – 9:55 PM

Michael C. Wright @mikecwright
Get’cha pre-orders in for @espn_macmahon’s Cooper Flagg memoir, coming in the next 5-6 years, wherever you can buy books. Hopefully, this one will have the final chapter included at the time of publication. – 7:43 PM

Wes Goldberg @wcgoldberg
Just a devastating result for the Heat.
They would have had the No. 11 lottery slot if they had missed the playoffs. Instead, it goes to the Mavs and they get the rights to draft Cooper Flagg, – 7:26 PM

Joe Cowley @JCowleyHoops
The Bulls landing Cooper Flagg would be more important to the organization than hitting on Derrick Rose. Bigger, better shooter, higher IQ, and a wing. Big bank always takes little bank. Here we go … – 7:04 PM

Marc J. Spears @MarcJSpears
Barring the unexpected, former Duke star Cooper Flagg is expected to the first White-American taken with the No. pick 1 pick in the NBA Draft since 1977. The last was former Indiana center Kent Benson taken first overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1977. bit.ly/4klvRrD – 6:05 PM

David MacKay @DavidMacKayNBA
In the unlikely event that the Portland Trail Blazers get the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft Lottery tonight, how would you prefer to reconstruct the roster around Cooper Flagg? – 3:18 PM

Chris Mannix @SIChrisMannix
For whoever needs to hear this: Whoever gets the No. 1 pick isn’t trading it and whoever lands 2-to-whatever isn’t moving up for it. Cooper Flagg is considered to be that good. One lottery exec told me, “if we don’t get him, I just hope he winds up in the (other) conference.” – 1:54 PM

Sam Vecenie @Sam_Vecenie
To preview the NBA Draft Lottery, I broke down how Cooper Flagg would fit on all 13 teams that have a chance to get him tonight when the lottery occurs.
(And also did a quick thing at the top on where he ranks among top prospects of the last decade)
nytimes.com/athletic/63437… – 7:07 AM