There has been much speculation about what the Dallas Mavericks will do with the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Dallas shockingly won last Monday’s Draft Lottery and earned the right to pick Duke freshman star Cooper Flagg. But since the Mavs are in a win-now mode with their roster, several talking heads are saying they are better off trading the pick.
Some have suggested Milwaukee because the Bucks could be ready to part with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Others said they could trade it to Phoenix for Devin Booker or maybe even Kevin Durant. Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor, meanwhile, floated the shocking idea of Flagg playing for his hometown team – the Boston Celtics.
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“At the draft combine this week, Tre Johnson openly said the Celtics interviewed him,” O’Connor said on his podcast. “I have multiple sources telling me the Celtics also interviewed Cooper Flagg. Now, this does not mean they’re going to trade up into the top 10, but I do think it’s interesting, at least.”
Boston has an interest in the hometown kid?
According to O’Connor, teams are allowed to interview up to 13 prospects at the Draft Combine. With the Celtics not picking until No. 28, it’s fascinating why they interviewed two prospects who are expected to be drafted in the Top 3 or Top 5, with Flagg the expected No. 1 overall pick.
However, with Boston expected to make roster changes this summer, O’Connor thinks that Brad Stevens may be looking to move up in the draft by dealing his most valuable trade asset – Jaylen Brown. The Celtics are rumored to be parting ways with Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, among others, but looking at value, it’s Brown who would command a high first round pick right now.
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The show’s guest, Tom Haberstroh, agreed that JB has the best trade value among the current members of the Boston team. However, while he thinks that Jaylen can command a Top 5 pick if traded, he does not believe that the Mavericks would accept Brown plus draft picks as compensation for Flagg. O’Connor then popped a fascinating question.
“What if Cooper pulls an Eli Manning and says, ‘I’ll only go to Boston’… Hometown, New England boy,” he asked.
Will Flagg force his way to Boston?
Manning was the consensus top pick of the 2004 NFL Draft. That year, the San Diego Chargers owned the top pick, but Eli wanted to play only for the New York Giants. He told the Chargers that and San Diego ended up trading him to New York after picking him in the Draft.
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Flagg has not stated that he wants to play for the Celtics, or for any other team for that matter. However, he was born in Newport, Maine which is about a three-and-a-half hour drive from Boston. Cooper also grew up as a Celtics fan so the ties are obviously there.
The Mavs have made no official statement about what they are going to do with the No. 1 pick. However, head coach Jason Kidd recently said that his team is the perfect landing spot for the Duke star.
“I think this is a great situation for him. When you talk about different guys that we have on the team, the pressure of living up to the No. 1 will be a lot easier with the talent around him. When you talk about other clubs, he would have to, you know, produce right away on a high, high level,” the Mavs head coach disclosed in his appearance on the “Dan Patrick Show.”
The current CBA has made it impossible for the Celtics to keep their current team intact.
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Because of potential cap issues, the Celtics are expected to shed salary this summer. It wasn’t expected that they would be moving Brown. But with the recent developments at the Draft Combine and Tatum’s injury, who knows what Stevens has in mind.