There will be no shortage of Duke Blue Devils hearing their name called during the two-round NBA draft event set to take place on June 25 and 26. While it may be Flag Day on Saturday, come Jun. 25, it should be “Flagg Day” in Dallas moving forward. In a wild turn of events, the Mavericks traded away generational star Luka Doncic, only to be awarded the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft.
While a lot of focus will be on Flagg and the Mavs, for good reason, there are several other Duke players who were part of the team that made a Final Four run set to make the jump to the NBA as well. Kon Knueppel and big man Khaman Maluach will also hear their names called in the first round. They will join Flagg in the Green Room on draft night.
Check out the latest mock draft and where the top Duke players are projected to go.
It is just a formality at this point when it comes to Cooper Flagg’s draft slot. He is a two-way player and the best available in the upcoming NBA draft. Dallas Mavericks GM Nico Harrison has made it known that he values a talent who can play at a high level on both ends. Flagg would join former Duke players Kyrie Irving and Derek Lively II on the Mavs.
Whether it is with the Washington Wizards or New Orleans Pelicans, it seems that fellow standout freshman Kon Knueppel is bound to land inside the top eight of the upcoming NBA draft. With the Wizards, Knueppel can be a guy to really enhance their offense from the mid-range and beyond the arc. For a team that was No. 27 on offense last season, anything would help at this point.
If you need a shot-blocker, rim-rocker, pick-and-roll glass cleaner who wants to head to lob city, then Khaman Maluach is your guy. He didn’t have the best showing in the Final Four loss to Houston, but Maluach can be an impact big north of the border with the Raptors. His addition would help a team that finished in the bottom half of the league in rebounds both for and against.
The Rest
Both Tyrese Proctor and Sion James are expected to hear their names called on day two. There is some development that needs to happen in order for them to make an impact at the next level. Proctor needs to rediscover his jump shot after he was very inconsistent with it down the stretch for the Blue Devils.