Celtics interview pair of top NBA Draft prospects

The Boston Celtics 2024-25 season ended in embarrassing fashion last night, but even prior to that it was the job of Brad Stevens and the team's front office to be preparing for the upcoming NBA Draft. The Celtics have reportedly already interviewed at least two projected top picks in consensus #1 overall pick Cooper Flagg as well as Tre Johnson. It should be noted that general managers often will interview top prospects prior to the draft because it gives them a chance to get to know a player who they may years from now try to acquire. That said the report from O'Connor that the Celtics interviewed Flagg will still get people talking.

One could argue that the Mavericks trading Flagg for Jaylen Brown makes more sense for them than when they traded Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis, but that's not how thongs work. Just because a GM made a lopsided trade with one team doesn't mean he will do the same with everyone. And the backlash over the Doncic trade will likely make Nico Harrison and the Mavs less likely to move Flagg.

Trading into the top of the draft to snag Texas guard Tre Johnson is much more doable than the Flagg scenario, but it would still cost a pretty penny. Not nearly as much as it would cost to trade up to #1, but still a heavy amount.

In terms of sought after trade assets the Celtics own first round picks will always have value. Then you have Payton Pritchard who is still fairly young and on a good contract. Derrick White also has good value, while Jaylen Brown's is diminished somewhat due to his super max deal.

Brad Stevens is in tough spot, because he has the roster of a team that won a championship last season, but financially has to be broken up this summer. Then with Jayson Tatum out, next season is more or less a transition year where they won't be competing, so Stevens has to construct a roster that can either vie for a championship in the spring of 2027 or soon thereafter.

Unless Tatum and/or Brown take less on future contracts eventually they will need to be broken up anyway, since supermax deals get even more expensive with players who have more years of service. I've written this before, but honestly the thing that hurt the vialbility of this group sticking around for the long haul is when Jaylen Brown got reclassified as a guard a couple years ago which let him sneak on an All-NBA team and bumped up his potential max extension to a supermax one.

Brown on a max deal which is still a ton of money and is what a player like Doncic will be getting would have enabled the Celtics to avoid the 2nd Apron and not be in this financial bind. It's also why O'Connor's fantasy deal for Flagg is Brown plus multiple first round picks and not more of a straight up offer or one with just one pick attached.

Flagg on a rookie deal would be perfect for the Celtics or any team for that matter. It's another reason why the Mavs would be fools to trade him for an existing max or supermax star. Hypothetically if the Mavs traded Flagg for a Giannis Antetokounmpo or Brown they'd have to gut their own roster to fit the incoming deal onto a roster payroll with Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving who they want to re-sign.

So while hearing that the Celtics have talked to Flagg is somewhat exciting, it's sadly really only a pipe dream. Expect to hear a lot of rumors up to the draft and this summer. And some of them will include fan favorites like Brown, White, and Pritchard, but keep in mind that doesn't mean the Celtics want to trade any of them. It's just a general manager's job to have discussions and they would be negligent to their position if they didn't have them. The most likely scenario for this offseason is that Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis are both moved and Brown, White, and Pritchard all remain in Boston. With that said, the Celtics have traded fan favorites Marcus Smart, Robert Williams, Isaiah Thomas, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, and Kendrick Perkins over the past 14 years. Stevens like the man he learned from Danny Ainge isn't scared to make a move that will hurt fans temporarily, but will presumably help the franchise in the long run.


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