Chris Paul was surprised like the rest of us when the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA Draft lottery last month , which added to the "crazy" group chat with friends and teammates after his own former squad, the San Antonio Spurs , popped inside the top four

The attention quickly shifted to Cooper Flagg, the Mavericks' projected No. 1 overall pick and most-hyped prospect in recent years.

"I'm in L.A. right now, and Cooper Flagg has been out there. I've been in the gym with him a couple times and whatnot," Paul said this week on "The Pat McAfee Show." "He's as real as advertised."

The rave review from Paul is the latest scouting report from Flagg's NBA brethren ahead of this month's big night. Some opinions have been negative on Flagg's future trajectory, while others expec

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