Cooper Flagg (right) was the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Cooper Flagg (right) was the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.Adam Hunger/Associated Press
Shaking my notebook up and down and seeing what falls out as the Summer Celtics prepare to head to Las Vegas for summer league …
▪ Last month I traveled to Newport, Maine, to find out what the success of Cooper Flagg means to his hometown of about 3,200. Everyone knew he would soon be drafted first overall by the Dallas Mavericks, but several discussions about Flagg’s past and future ended with one question: So, when is he going to become a Celtic? My honest answer was that it would almost certainly not happen anytime soon.
Nevertheless, people in Newport remained hopeful that Flagg would one day join the team he supported so avidly as a child. Nokomis Regional High Principal Mary Nadeau said that Newport residents are eagerly awaiting the release of next season’s NBA schedule to see when the Mavericks will come to TD Garden. When I asked if fans might fill a charter bus to Boston, she chuckled and said there would be more than one.
▪ Speaking of the schedule release, is there a chance Jayson Tatum’s injury and the team’s roster overhaul could keep the Celtics from getting a Christmas game this year? Boston has been part of the NBA’s signature regular-season day every year since 2016. This streak was preceded by a three-year drought from 2012-15.
Last season, just 3 of the 10 teams playing on Christmas were from the Eastern Conference. And the injuries to Tatum, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton, and Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard have widened the gap between the two conferences this summer.
The Lakers, Warriors, Knicks, Thunder, and Rockets figure to be locks to play on Christmas, with the Nuggets and Timberwolves not far behind. The Cavaliers won 64 games and are returning most of their key pieces. That would leave two more spots. The NBA will probably have to choose whether it wants to highlight a rising team such as the Magic or stick with a weakened Celtics squad with rich tradition and a strong run of recent success.
▪ According to league sources, everything is pushing forward as planned regarding the sale of the Celtics to a group led by Bill Chisholm. The deal is expected to be approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors later this month.
▪ Longtime Celtics assistant Matt Reynolds has been picked to coach Boston’s summer league team. Reynolds joined the Celtics as an intern in 2013 and worked in the video department for about five years before becoming a special assistant to the head coach for three. He was officially named an assistant coach in 2022 and has turned into one of head coach Joe Mazzulla’s most trusted confidants. During games, Reynolds is usually tasked with deciding whether to challenge a call.
▪ Mazzulla is constantly seeking ways to improve, and based on a hint from president of basketball operations Brad Stevens, it’s clear that this pursuit has not been scaled back this summer.
“I know Joe has already traveled the world to meet with people and talk about some [coaching philosophies],” Stevens said. “I think he was excited to do that. He’s actually at a conference tonight talking about leadership. He’s always trying to learn and grow. I believe wholeheartedly in him and our staff figuring out how to best maximize our team.”
▪ The trade of Kristaps Porzingis to the Hawks is a significant loss for the notebooks and video cameras of Boston media. Porzingis was always available and candid, regardless of a game’s result or his own performance.
▪ Celtics second-round pick Max Shulga, who was born in Ukraine and later moved to Spain, said his love for basketball sprouted because his father refereed games throughout Europe when he was a child. So, does that connection give him added respect for officials?
“Nah, not really,” Shulga said, smiling. “Still player-ref relationship, yeah.”
▪ Brockton’s AJ Dybantsa scored 22 points to lead the US to a 108-102 win over Canada in a FIBA World Cup U19 quarterfinal on Friday. He had 10 points in just 14 minutes in Saturday’s 120-64 semifinal romp over New Zealand that clinched a spot in Sunday’s gold-medal game against Germany.
▪ Former Celtics forward Guerschon Yabusele appears to be back in the NBA for good. Yabusele parlayed a strong performance with France at last summer’s Paris Olympics into a one-year deal with the 76ers. This season, he averaged 11 points and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 38 percent from the 3-point line, and has reportedly agreed to a two-year, $12 million deal with the Knicks.
Yabusele was just 20 when the Celtics drafted him 16th overall in 2016. He averaged 2.3 points per game over two seasons but was waived in 2019 and continued his pro career in Europe.
▪ The NBA is inching closer to empowering players to firing up deep end-of-quarter shots without worrying about misses denting their field-goal percentage. During summer league, missed “heaves” will be recorded as team attempts only. To be considered a heave, the play must originate in the backcourt and come in the final three seconds of the final three periods, at a minimum distance of about 36 feet. Celtics guard Payton Pritchard never needed the help, of course.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.