"Tank for Cooper Flagg" - Lakers fans react as GM Rob Pelinka attends Duke-Kentucky game    

The NBA world is already familiar with Duke star Cooper Flagg. For months, the 6-foot-9 forward has been projected to be the first pick in the 2025 NBA draft.

All eyes were on him as the No. 6 Blue Devils took on the No. 19 Kentucky Wildcats in a rivalry game on Wednesday night at the 2024 Champions Classic. This was the freshman's first prime-time contest against another heavyweight collegiate program. With that in mind, plenty of big names in the basketball industry were in attendance, including LA Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka.

Needless to say, it didn't take long for Lakers fans to notice Pelinka's presence, and comments came flooding in. With only a handful of NBA games played, the Lakers are not currently projected to have the first pick, so one fan suggested:

"Tank for Cooper Flagg."

Some fans criticized Pelinka for his limited offseason moves and the lack of a substantial trade.

"We don't even own our pick and instead of making an obvious trade he's there SMH," a fan condemned.

"We need him to make trades, not scout for the draft lol," another one added.

The trend continued, and many fans called him out for doing the scouts' jobs.

"Leave that to Joey and Jesse bud," one fan tweeted.

"This man scouting on company dime is such a waste of money," another fan commented.

"Why is he in Atlanta," one fan questioned.

---

Cooper Flagg's turnovers costly in Blue Devils' loss

Despite his best efforts, Cooper Flagg's night ended with a couple of blunders. He turned the ball over twice in the last 20 seconds of the game, leading to a 77-72 upset loss for the Blue Devils. Even so, after the game, coach Jon Scheyer said:

“We’re going to be in these moments a lot together, and I trust his instincts and I probably could have put him in a better position, to be honest. He’s got to touch it and trust that good things are going to happen, and I wish you could say that every time it’s going to work out and that’s not reality."

Cooper Flagg finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds, shooting 9 of 19 from the floor, but those two miscues couldn't have come at a worse time. Even so, his confidence remains unwavering.

“Coach has trust in me to go and make a play,” Flagg said. “It didn’t work out. I’m glad he had that trust in me to put the ball in my hands. I’m looking for it in that moment. It didn’t work out. I’m still going to look for it, no matter what.”

The season is just getting started, so he should have plenty of opportunities to learn from these miscues. Whether he makes his way to the Lakers after what will likely be his lone season at Duke remains to be seen.