The hype train is almost at its destination. Cooper Flagg is a day away from going up on the stage beside Adam Silver at the Barclays Center as the number one pick. He had a sensational season at Duke, highlighting his NBA-ready potential to the basketball world. But as dominant as the phantom from Maine is, what can we expect from his rookie season?

The tags have been put on his name. Flagg is a ‘generational’ prospect capable of being a top-tier talent in the NBA. But Channing Frye seems to think otherwise. He is definitely high on Flagg’s potential. But he isn’t something the former Cavalier has never seen before.

“I don’t think he’s generational. I think he is going to make an impact on a team like Jaylen Williams has made an impact on a team. So he isn’t just hear me out. Jaylen Williams, it took him three years to win a chip. So he got to be doing something right,” Frye added.

He doesn’t dismiss Flagg as a ceiling to be an all-time talent. But he doesn’t see him standing on the platform besides the likes of Victor Wembanyama, who is a flat-out anomaly on the hardwood. So as a rookie, Channing Frye knows all the attention is going to be on Cooper Flagg in Dallas. But he doesn’t expect him to be the biggest star on the floor.

“Cooper Flag is not going to be the main guy even on this team. So is he going to be better than AD next year? I don’t think so. I think Cooper Flagg is an important piece to a championship team at a young age, but generational, I don’t use that word very often, but I think he is a very very very good player,” Frye concluded on Road Trippin’.

Perkins thought Frye was out of his mind. And there’s good reason to believe so. Flagg has competed against the NBA’s best and even found some success. It was a surreal and short stretch, but ample to showcase his readiness. But at just the age of 18, Flagg has a lot of growth to do. But what is happening right now could scare his opponents.

Cooper Flagg is yet to reach his final form

The numbers are all there to assess just how splendid of a talent Cooper Flagg really is. Playing for Duke, he averaged nearly 20 points and was a workhorse on the defensive end. But more than his anticipation and feel for the game, Flagg’s size stands out. He is able to do everything on the court at 6’9”.

But until a month ago, he wasn’t even that tall. Jonathan Givony has spent these months studying the prospects. And he had an interesting revelation about the Duke forward.

“He’s got a great frame that is going to continue to grow. And, you know, he’s actually like, he’s grown in stature over the last year. He’s added almost an inch here. He’s added 12 pounds. Like you said, he’s 221 pounds. He might not be done growing, which is pretty scary for everybody, you know, in that Southwest division with the Dallas Mavericks,” Givony said on Hoop Collective.

Additionally, Givony is absolutely convinced that Cooper Flagg is the real deal. “He’s absolutely a special player, and I expect him to be an All-Star and a franchise player. And maybe a guy that is even able to reach higher than that,” he said about the 18-year-old. This just makes the anticipation grow. Most are certain that Flagg is set for a bright future.

He’s a hard-working kid who has maintained his disposition as the top player for years. That doesn’t just happen by being a great player. Flagg has a strong conviction. He wants to make his dream a reality, and tomorrow, he will step into that vision. Generational or not, Cooper Flagg aims to be a better version of himself than yesterday.

That mindset has bred ‘killers’ in the NBA. And you ask Kendrick Perkins, that’s who Cooper Flagg will be once he gets a taste of the league.