Presumptive No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg interviewed with the Celtics last week at the NBA Draft combine, an unexpected interaction between the former Duke star and Brad Stevens, Boston’s president of basketball operations. The Celtics hold the 28th pick of the first round and the Dallas Mavericks have no plans to trade away the top selection after winning the lottery.
Stevens addressed why his franchise met with Flagg, college basketball’s Player of the Year last season.
“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. Otherwise, we may never get to talk to them again,” Stevens said during Boston’s season-ending press conference. “So the only people that will come in and work out for us are the people in our range or maybe they’re at the bottom end of our range or whatever the case may be. That doesn’t really have anything to do with any of that.”
At the end of his answer, Stevens effectively responded to rampant speculation about the Celtics’ interest in Flagg and a potential blockbuster trade scenario.
In short, it ain’t happening.
“Will there be fireworks on draft night? I can’t imagine. But again, who knows? I wouldn’t guess with us, no.”
Celtics star Jayson Tatum suffered an Achilles injury in Game 5 of the team’s second-round playoff series and will have a long offseason of recovery. Jaylen Brown signed a five-year, supermax extension with the franchise ahead of the 2023-24 season.
The rest of the roster, if the Mavericks were interested, would seemingly be expendable in a trade scenario.
Flagg told CBS Sports last summer ahead of his only season with the Blue Devils that he grew up an avid Celtics fan.
“We’d have a couple-hour drive for AAU tournaments and our little Chrysler van had a movie projector that would come down the middle and we’d pop in 85-86 Celtics the whole championship run and watch game by game, playing the whole thing over and over again,” Flagg said. “I think the way they played, the way they got the ball out quickly, moved it down the court, the selflessness and unselfishness on that team of just accepting a role, doing the right things, putting your body on the line, it kind of embodies what a good team has to have. Everyone has to sacrifice something.
“Playing the game the right way will get you a lot farther than trying to do things you can’t or don’t help your team win. That type of influence has been invaluable to me.”
Naturally, Flagg is comfortable in transition and always look to push tempo, which is one of Boston’s staples. The former five-star and No. 1 overall player in the 2024 recruiting cycle declared for the draft in April after leading the Blue Devils to the Final Four as the national Player of the Year.
This news was originally published on this post .
About the author
Fantasy Football Rankings 2025: Week 6
Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes These are my fantasy football rankings for the week for PPR leagues. According to FantasyPros, my rankings have been among the 12-most accurate in five of the last six seasons when just considering the core four positions, joining only three other analysts. They ranked seventh last season Injury statuses like Q for questionable are included once they are official, leading up to a game. Prior to that, practice statuses for the most recent practice are provided. This includes DNP for did not participate, LP for limited participation and FP for full participation. You can find rankings in other formats in our rankings tool.
Joe Flacco trade: How Browns’ deal affects Shedeur Sanders on team’s depth chart
Cleveland Browns rookie Shedeur Sanders ruffled some feathers when he said he could perform better than some starting quarterbacks in the NFL. Just a few weeks later, the Browns gave Sanders a vote of confidence on that front, trading away veteran quarterback Joe Flacco in a deal with the Cincinnati Bengals.With the move, Sanders presumably will become the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart behind fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel. Prior to Tuesday's trade, Sanders served as the team's emergency No. 3 quarterback on game day. In that role, Sanders was part of the team's inactives, but could still see the field if both quarterbacks ahead of him on the team's depth chart were injured. That situation never came to pass, and Sanders has yet to be active for an NFL game.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThat could happen as soon as Week 6, but […]
The Second Decision: LeBron James toys with fans’ emotions for the sake of an ad
Think back — if you’re old enough — to 30 years ago and those two famous words from Michael Jordan, delivered on March 18, 1995 via fax:“I’m back.”Remember how thrilled you were to find out he would be playing basketball again? Remember how exciting it all seemed, that the greatest was once again returning to the hardwood? Good times, right?AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAnd then remember how devastated you were to learn that it was all just a big ad campaign for Ben-Gay to soothe sore back muscles? Remember how betrayed you felt to have your emotions toyed with like that, all in service of a damn commercial?Of course you don’t remember that last part, because it didn’t happen. Jordan didn’t tease his fans like that, didn’t screw with their heads (and their wallets) for the sake of some cheap ad hype.LeBron James, on […]
Veja os clubes mais beneficiados pelo VAR no Brasileirão 2025
Checagem do VAR no gol anulado (Reprodução)A 27ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro 2025 terminou com fortes reclamações sobre arbitragem e uso do VAR (Árbitro Assistente de Vídeo). Isso gera o debate sobre os clubes mais beneficiados pelo VAR. PUBLICIDADE PUBLICIDADEEmbora a tecnologia tenha sido criada para reduzir erros e garantir mais justiça, os números mostram que seu uso continua gerando polêmicas e desequilíbrios na percepção dos torcedores e dirigentes.Um levantamento da ESPN Brasil revelou que o VAR interferiu diretamente em mais de 150 decisões ao longo do campeonato até aqui. O sistema foi acionado em lances decisivos, como marcação ou anulação de pênaltis, impedimentos milimétricos, revisões de cartões e até em gols anulados por faltas na origem da jogada. PUBLICIDADE PUBLICIDADEClubes mais beneficiados pelo VARO grande destaque do ranking é o Internacional, que aparece como o time mais beneficiado até […]
João Fonseca confirma presença no Rio Open 2026
João Fonseca na Laver Cup. Foto: Alamy/AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)O jovem tenista brasileiro João Fonseca confirmou sua presença no Rio Open 2026. O torneio será realizado entre 14 e 22 de fevereiro, no Jockey Club Brasileiro, no Rio de Janeiro. Esta será a quarta participação do atleta no ATP 500 carioca. Segundo o tenista, teve papel decisivo em sua formação e no início da carreira profissional. PUBLICIDADE PUBLICIDADE“O Rio Open representa muita experiência. Eu já fui como torcedor, sparring e foi onde joguei meu primeiro ATP. Criei muita vivência vendo os jogadores, foi onde me inspirou a jogar tênis. É um torneio que está no meu coração por me ensinar o que é o tênis do alto nível e o que eu precisava para chegar lá”, comentou João Fonseca.Participações anteriores de João Fonseca no Rio OpenEm 2023, ainda como juvenil, Fonseca […]
Browns trade Joe Flacco to Bengals: Cincinnati acquires veteran QB from division rival in late-round pick swap
The Cincinnati Bengals are adding a new quarterback, as CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones confirms they have traded for Cleveland Browns signal-caller Joe Flacco. The Browns are sending the 40-year-old Flacco and a sixth-round pick to the Bengals in exchange for a fifth-round pick. ESPN reports that the Bengals would like Flacco to start this Sunday at the Green Bay Packers, and expect him to be a quick learner. It's not often you see two division rivals trade quarterbacks, but Flacco had recently been benched for Dillon Gabriel, and the Bengals felt like they had to make a change under center. Following Joe Burrow's injury, Zac Taylor decided to roll with Jake Browning as his new starter. However, Browning has lost all three of his starts by a combined 76 points, while throwing four touchdowns compared to five interceptions. Last week, Taylor said he had […]
Related
Fantasy Football Rankings 2025: Week 6
Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes These are my fantasy football rankings for the week for PPR leagues. According to FantasyPros, my rankings have been among the 12-most accurate in five of the last six seasons when just considering the core four positions, joining only three other analysts. They ranked seventh last season Injury statuses like Q for questionable are included once they are official, leading up to a game. Prior to that, practice statuses for the most recent practice are provided. This includes DNP for did not participate, LP for limited participation and FP for full participation. You can find rankings in other formats in our rankings tool.
Joe Flacco trade: How Browns’ deal affects Shedeur Sanders on team’s depth chart
Cleveland Browns rookie Shedeur Sanders ruffled some feathers when he said he could perform better than some starting quarterbacks in the NFL. Just a few weeks later, the Browns gave Sanders a vote of confidence on that front, trading away veteran quarterback Joe Flacco in a deal with the Cincinnati Bengals.With the move, Sanders presumably will become the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart behind fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel. Prior to Tuesday's trade, Sanders served as the team's emergency No. 3 quarterback on game day. In that role, Sanders was part of the team's inactives, but could still see the field if both quarterbacks ahead of him on the team's depth chart were injured. That situation never came to pass, and Sanders has yet to be active for an NFL game.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThat could happen as soon as Week 6, but […]
The Second Decision: LeBron James toys with fans’ emotions for the sake of an ad
Think back — if you’re old enough — to 30 years ago and those two famous words from Michael Jordan, delivered on March 18, 1995 via fax:“I’m back.”Remember how thrilled you were to find out he would be playing basketball again? Remember how exciting it all seemed, that the greatest was once again returning to the hardwood? Good times, right?AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAnd then remember how devastated you were to learn that it was all just a big ad campaign for Ben-Gay to soothe sore back muscles? Remember how betrayed you felt to have your emotions toyed with like that, all in service of a damn commercial?Of course you don’t remember that last part, because it didn’t happen. Jordan didn’t tease his fans like that, didn’t screw with their heads (and their wallets) for the sake of some cheap ad hype.LeBron James, on […]
Veja os clubes mais beneficiados pelo VAR no Brasileirão 2025
Checagem do VAR no gol anulado (Reprodução)A 27ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro 2025 terminou com fortes reclamações sobre arbitragem e uso do VAR (Árbitro Assistente de Vídeo). Isso gera o debate sobre os clubes mais beneficiados pelo VAR. PUBLICIDADE PUBLICIDADEEmbora a tecnologia tenha sido criada para reduzir erros e garantir mais justiça, os números mostram que seu uso continua gerando polêmicas e desequilíbrios na percepção dos torcedores e dirigentes.Um levantamento da ESPN Brasil revelou que o VAR interferiu diretamente em mais de 150 decisões ao longo do campeonato até aqui. O sistema foi acionado em lances decisivos, como marcação ou anulação de pênaltis, impedimentos milimétricos, revisões de cartões e até em gols anulados por faltas na origem da jogada. PUBLICIDADE PUBLICIDADEClubes mais beneficiados pelo VARO grande destaque do ranking é o Internacional, que aparece como o time mais beneficiado até […]
João Fonseca confirma presença no Rio Open 2026
João Fonseca na Laver Cup. Foto: Alamy/AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)O jovem tenista brasileiro João Fonseca confirmou sua presença no Rio Open 2026. O torneio será realizado entre 14 e 22 de fevereiro, no Jockey Club Brasileiro, no Rio de Janeiro. Esta será a quarta participação do atleta no ATP 500 carioca. Segundo o tenista, teve papel decisivo em sua formação e no início da carreira profissional. PUBLICIDADE PUBLICIDADE“O Rio Open representa muita experiência. Eu já fui como torcedor, sparring e foi onde joguei meu primeiro ATP. Criei muita vivência vendo os jogadores, foi onde me inspirou a jogar tênis. É um torneio que está no meu coração por me ensinar o que é o tênis do alto nível e o que eu precisava para chegar lá”, comentou João Fonseca.Participações anteriores de João Fonseca no Rio OpenEm 2023, ainda como juvenil, Fonseca […]
Browns trade Joe Flacco to Bengals: Cincinnati acquires veteran QB from division rival in late-round pick swap
The Cincinnati Bengals are adding a new quarterback, as CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones confirms they have traded for Cleveland Browns signal-caller Joe Flacco. The Browns are sending the 40-year-old Flacco and a sixth-round pick to the Bengals in exchange for a fifth-round pick. ESPN reports that the Bengals would like Flacco to start this Sunday at the Green Bay Packers, and expect him to be a quick learner. It's not often you see two division rivals trade quarterbacks, but Flacco had recently been benched for Dillon Gabriel, and the Bengals felt like they had to make a change under center. Following Joe Burrow's injury, Zac Taylor decided to roll with Jake Browning as his new starter. However, Browning has lost all three of his starts by a combined 76 points, while throwing four touchdowns compared to five interceptions. Last week, Taylor said he had […]
Be the first to leave a comment