The Duke Blue Devils are coming off a heartbreaking end to an incredible season, falling just minutes short of clinching a spot in the National Championship against the Florida Gators. Three Duke freshmen are projected to be selected in the NBA Draft lottery. This was undoubtedly the best team Jon Scheyer has assembled so far—and he's already secured the future No. 1 overall pick, Cooper Flagg.
While Flagg is widely expected to land with the Dallas Mavericks, NBA analyst Brian Windhorst believes one Eastern Conference team may be trying to make a move for him. That team is the Milwaukee Bucks, whose star player is entering an unusually uncertain offseason.
“That is the craziest set of circumstances... You know they've wanted Giannis in Dallas for years. They signed his brother a few years ago. Just wanted to point that out,” Windhorst said.
Scheyer has been doing an amazing job at Duke—he didn’t lose a single player to the transfer portal this spring. However, Duke may still suffer a significant loss with recent portal commit Cedric Coward.
“Coward has helped himself more than anyone in Chicago," Adam Finkelstein said. "This is bad news for Duke. Sorry to break it, but Cedric Coward has some serious buzz. He went into the portal and committed to the Blue Devils, but he is trending towards becoming a first-round pick. The decision-making looks like it could be flipping. Coward had terrific measurements.”
Coward recently gave some clarity on where he stands regarding the NBA Draft.
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“I’m 100-percent focused on the draft,” Coward said. “It kind of sucks because people think I’m using Duke for just the noise or whatever it may be, but I picked them, and I love Coach Scheyer and the staff for a reason, and I believe they can help me if I were to go there.”
All signs point to Coward declaring for the draft and never stepping foot on campus. Losing a top transfer portal commit before he ever suits up would be a significant blow for Duke, but Coward must do what is best for him.