The Washington Wizards arguably went through not only one of the worst seasons in franchise history, but in NBA history as a whole.
There's no denying that the team has experienced more downs than they did ups. And not just the players on the team, the fanbase had to experience likely one of the toughest last few months of their fandom.
However, through it all, the one thing that kept hope on anybody associated with the Wizards organization was the light at the end of the tunnel: Cooper Flagg.
Obviously, after having as bad as a season as the Wizards did this year, it leads to the opportunity to land the No. 1 overall pick, as it does every year. In fact, Washington isn't the only team that have their eyes on the top pick, especially with Duke's freshman sensation seeming like the prized posession in the end.
Considering the Jazz's recent struggles and decision to shut down their top players, it's clear that their eyes are set on potentially earning the top pick themselves to select the franchise player.
Despite that, recent rumors over the last couple of months suggested that Flagg and his camp were heavily considering a return to college for his sophomore season at Duke, especially if a team like the Wizards or Charlotte Hornets were the team that earned the No. 1 overall pick.
As expected, that put a wrinkle in the plans of every team who has a chance at the top pick. Ironically, around the time of that news is when the Wizards decided to go on a random surge of winning games, which gave the Jazz the the lead for the No. 1 overall pick at one point.
During that surge, we considered the idea that Washington was thinking outside the box to let Utah and their President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge lure Flagg out of college, considring he's a big Boston Celtics fan. Perhaps it was a long-term plan that ended in them moving up for the pick, but really we were living in denial.
With how things stand right now, the Wizards and Jazz are neck-and-neck with the possibility to land the top pick in the NBA Draft lottery and potentially Flagg.
So the question at hand:
Is the Wizards dream of landing Flagg truly over?
The short answer? No.
The long answer? It's compllicated.
Flagg has the opportunity to win a National Championship at Duke during his freshman season and then declare for the NBA Draft and become the No. 1 overall pick. Something that most people dream about doing, especially when basketball or any sport is their aspirations.
Obviously, Flagg could return to Duke and run it back one more season to wait and see if a team he wants to play for is there to pick him and that becomes an even larger possibility if Duke falls short of their championship aspirations in the NCAA Tournament.
However, if Flagg does that, he also risks the chance of losing out on A LOT of money, even with the NIL opportunities that will come his way by staying in college. Not to mention, he runs the risks of a potential injury risking his chance of being the top pick next year.
All this to say that the dream isn't over until Flagg openly comes out and makes the announcement that he will forego the NBA Draft.
Until then, the dream remains alive.