Brad Stevens Addresses Eye-Catching Cooper Flagg-Celtics Rumor

Since the Dallas Mavericks defied their 1.8% chance of netting the first overall pick at last week’s NBA Draft Lottery, the global assumption is that Duke’s Cooper Flagg is just 37 days away from officially joining Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis.

In other words, the Boston Celtics — selecting at No. 28 and No. 32 — aren’t in the running for the projected generational talent.

Yet, that didn’t prevent the Celtics from finding themselves in the middle of pre-draft Flagg rumors. Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports reported that Boston met with the 18-year-old during the NBA Combine, which team president of basketball operations Brad Stevens explained during Monday’s end-of-season press conference.

“We can rank who we want to talk to, and the people we know we can’t get in to work out, is how we decide who we want to talk to at the combine,” Stevens told reporters, per team-provided video. “Otherwise, we may never get to talk to them again. So the only people who will come in and work out for us are people that think they’re in between in our range, or maybe they’re at the bottom end of our range, or whatever the case may be.”

The Celtics are in no position to consider Flagg as an option, pending some out-of-the-blue blockbuster trade that would likely split the Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown duo — and even that’s a long shot. Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison spent the second half of the season as the most hated man in Dallas following the organization’s unprecedented Luka Doncic trade with the Los Angeles Lakers in February. So, it’s hard to imagine Harrison and the front office are willing to play with their food as they strive to regain the trust of the Mavericks fan base, even if Stevens makes an offseason call.

Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists during his freshman year with the Blue Devils and led Duke (35-4) to a Final Four appearance. The 6-foot-9 forward was named the Naismith National Player of the Year, as Flagg successfully lived up to the hype that tabbed him as the No. 1 pick as a high school prospect.

If Flagg were to land with anyone else but the Mavericks, it would take either a blockbuster trade that’ll, again, draw controversy to Harrison or a level of front office incompetence that we’ve never seen before. Flagg’s athleticism and everlasting hustle have drawn the attention of teams before the Maine native ever suited up for Duke.

But Stevens doesn’t anticipate the Flagg lure will prompt the league’s next blockbuster, even with rumors riling up around Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

“I can’t imagine, but who knows?” Stevens said. “I wouldn’t guess with us, no.”

The Celtics have a situation of their own with their projected payroll that, as it stands, is set to charge the organization a record-high $500 million — the first in NBA history. Jayson Tatum’s $315 million supermax, plus the $45 million extension given to sharpshooter Sam Hauser, inflates the difficulty of the team’s upcoming offseason. So it’s more likely than not that the Celtics don’t return with their title-winning roster fully intact.

Stevens didn’t hint at any incoming Celtics trade activity, but the fourth-year executive doesn’t believe the league’s collective bargaining agreement will interfere with any potential trades from coming to fruition.

“Generally, one of the concerns with the new CBA was it might limit trade activity or movement, and I don’t know,” Stevens said. “I don’t think necessarily in the big picture that is the case. I think — no specifics at all — I wouldn’t be surprised to see movement continue to happen across the league. But as far as us moving up to those levels in the draft, I would guess that is not on the table.”

Stevens revealed that the Celtics hosted their latest draft workout on Monday.