All mock drafts point to Duke’s Cooper Flagg as the No.1 overall pick of next month’s 2025 NBA Draft. After wowing the nation with his impressive scrimmage performance against the Paris Olympics “Avengers” team last year, Coop lived up to the hype during his freshman year in Durham.
However, if DeMarcus Cousins had his way, he would rather select former Rutgers star Ace Bailey first overall in the upcoming Draft because he reminds him of one of the best scorers to ever play in the league.
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“I like Ace Bailey. To me, Ace Bailey is the No.1 pick. I think he’s the closest thing we’ve seen to a Tracy McGrady,” he exclaimed.
Bailey is projected to go 3rd overall
The 18-year-old from Chattanooga, Tennessee, was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players of the Class of 2024. Ace played for Rutgers last season, averaging 17.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. He made the Big Ten All-Freshman team while earning third-team All-Big Ten honors.
Listed at 6’7″, Ace is almost as tall as Tracy McGrady. Like T-Mac, Bailey is quick, explosive, and has a smooth shooting stroke. However, he has several weaknesses, like loose ball handling and tunnel vision, which he will ultimately overcome with more experience.
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But for now, draft experts rank Ace at No.3 behind Flagg and his Rutgers teammate, Dylan Harper. Cousins does not see the Mavs picking Bailey over Flagg. He also does not think that they will keep the former Blue Devil because he or any rookie, for that matter, will fit their timeline.
“But I don’t see Nico…there’s no way he keeps that (pick). With everything that he’s said on record as far as his window of winning and championship, it just doesn’t logically make sense to me. We’ve seen crazier things, so there’s a great chance,” added Cousins.
Kidd hinted that they may be keeping Flagg
However, contrary to DeMarcus’ statement, the Mavs may be looking to keep the pick. Although he did not say it outright, Dallas head coach Jason Kidd recently talked about how the Mavericks are a perfect landing spot for “The Maine Event.”
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“I think this is a great situation for him. When you talk about different guys that we have on the team, the pressure of living up to the No.1 will be a lot easier with the talent around him. When you talk about other clubs, he would have to, you know, produce right away on a high, high level,” the Mavs head coach disclosed in his appearance on the “Dan Patrick Show.”
As it stands right now, it does look like the Mavs will draft Flagg. Meanwhile, Bailey could go anywhere from 3-5 in the Draft.
Still, T-Mac was drafted ninth overall in 1997, and he ended up becoming better than every guy picked ahead of him except Tim Duncan. Maybe Ace could follow a similar path.