The Nets are supposed to be tanking for Cooper Flagg (or Ace Bailey) but they’re not buying it: ‘We don’t use that word’

NEW YORK — Don’t tell the Brooklyn Nets they’re supposed to be tanking for Duke’s Cooper Flagg or Rutgers stars Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper.
“We don’t use some of those words [like ‘tanking’], so it’s go compete, go compete and let the chips fall where they may,” Nets GM Sean Marks told NJ.com in an exclusive interview before the Nets lost to the Knicks, 124-122, in an NBA Cup game Friday night at Madison Square Garden. The Nets trailed by 21 points in the third quarter but took the lead in the final seconds before Jalen Brunson hit a game-winning 3-pointer.
When Brooklyn dealt Mikal Bridges to the rival Knicks in a blockbuster summer trade that brought back four first-round picks, including one in next summer’s star-driven NBA Draft, it was widely understood that the Nets were trying to “Wave the White Flagg for Cooper Flagg.”
Entering the 2024-25 NBA season, the Nets were No. 1 on Tankathon.com in terms of odds to land the No. 1 pick, which could be Flagg, the uber-talented 6-foot-9 Duke freshman, but also could be the 6-10 Bailey, who scored 17 points, including a highlight-reel dunk, in his Rutgers debut Friday night.
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The over/under on the Nets win total was 19.5, per Vegas oddsmakers.
But under first-year coach Jordi Fernandez, the Nets (5-8) are competing hard and and would be in the mix for the Play-In Tournament if the postseason started today. Which, of course, it does not.
Even when they lose, they are competitive. They led the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics by 13 points on Wednesday before losing, 139-114.
Against the Knicks, Cam Thomas poured in 43 points and Dennis Schröder hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 11.5 seconds left before Brunson’s game-winner.
“Credit my guys, we talked about continuing to believe and fight and fight together,” Fernandez said. “Even though we were down 18 in the fourth, we kept fighting and we found a way. And we didn’t stop fighting.”
He added: “Losing hurts, and it hurts to all of us. Right there we showed our identity, and nobody can take that away from us. Nobody.”
After the loss, the Nets were projected to draft at No. 8, with Tankathon projecting they will 7-foot-2 Duke freshman big man Khaman Maluach — not Flagg or Bailey.
“I think you navigate the season as it goes, and you don’t go into a season saying this is where we’re going to be, this is how it’s going to end,” Marks said outside the visiting locker room at the Garden. “There’s a lot of unforeseen things.”
He added: “You’ve gotta give credit to these players, they’re playing with a chip on their shoulder, the coaches are doing a helluva job, so that’s exciting to see. It’s exciting to see an identity being formed and a culture being driven. So who am I to push back on that?”
Marks, of course, is doing his due diligence ahead of what’s expected to be a potentially historic draft next summer.
After the Bridges trade, the Nets now have 15 first-round picks over the next seven years, including four in 2025.
“This year specifically, with all the picks that we have, we have to be scouting a very wide range,” Marks said. “And that’s fine, that’s exciting, we’ve never had that opportunity before.”
The highest pick the Nets have had since Marks became GM in 2016 was No. 17 in 2019, which they used on Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who was promptly traded and ended up in New Orleans.
The Nets haven’t had a lottery pick since choosing Derrick Favors at No. 3 in 2010. Favors has been out of the NBA for three years.
Ahead of next year’s draft, Marks has attended multiple Rutgers’ games, including the preseason exhibition with Rick Pitino’s St. John’s club where both Marks and Nets assistant GM B.J. Johnson were in attendance on a night when Bailey and Harper combined for 45 points.
After that game, one NBA scout said of Bailey: “He’s [among the] top-3 youth players in the world. Everyone has Cooper Fever, [but] he will challenge Cooper for No. 1.
“It’s not clear cut.”
There’s still a long way to go in this NBA season — and an even longer time before the draft.
A lot can happen.
The Nets could go into a tailspin and emerge with one of the top picks in the draft. Adam Silver could end up announcing Flagg or Bailey or Harper to the Nets on draft night.
But for now, the Nets are competing and could end up in the mix for a playoff spot, in which case they’d miss out on potential franchise-changing players like Flagg or Bailey.
“Well, these guys [on the Nets] have done something really right if that’s the case,” Marks said, “and I love that.”
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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter who covers Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media. You may follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and check out his Website at ZAGSBLOG.com.