Shaking my notebook up and down and seeing what falls out as the Celtics prepare for their final Western Conference road trip of the regular season . . .
⋅ Brockton native AJ Dybantsa, the likely No. 1 overall pick of the 2026 NBA draft, is wrapping up his senior year at Utah Prep Academy, but he has a busy schedule ahead. His father, Ace, said by phone Wednesday that AJ is planning to come to Boston for a few days early next week before traveling to New York to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game at Barclays Center on April 1.
Soon after, AJ will move to Provo, Utah, where his summer-school session at BYU will begin April 29. Ace said it is an earlier start than usual, but the university accommodated AJ because in June he will leave to begin training with USA Basketball in Colorado as it prepares for the FIBA Under-19 World Cup in Switzerland.
Although AJ will be attending college about 2,500 miles from Boston next year, there will be chances to see him play closer to home. Ace said the Cougars are planning to play a December game at Madison Square Garden, and they are also attempting to schedule a game in the Boston area.
⋅ CBS Sports recently reported Celtics director of scouting Remy Cofield has accepted an offer to become the University of Arkansas athletic department’s general manager. Cofield and a Razorbacks spokesperson both declined to comment on the potential move, but it would be a notable loss for the Celtics.
Cofield, a Newton native, attended Roxbury Latin before playing two seasons at Penn. He has worn many hats during his 12 years with the Celtics. He started as an operations assistant, and worked as a scout and general manager of the team’s G League affiliate in Maine before being named Celtics director of scouting in 2020. Within the organization, there is a strong belief that Cofield will thrive in this new role with the Razorbacks.
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⋅ Over the next few weeks, the Celtics front office will be just like the rest of us. Well, sort of. After spreading out across the country to canvas as many college conference tournaments as possible, the entire staff is regrouping at the Auerbach Center to watch the NCAA Tournament this week.
“We have everyone come in and we talk a lot about the draft and final season conclusions and plan for the upcoming things, and then we have a lot of fun,” assistant general manager Austin Ainge said. “We kind of take off our scouting hats off for a lot of the day and sit in a room together to watch the games and laugh and tease and eat pizza and fill out our brackets and have fun.”
Ainge said the primary purpose of the viewing parties is to evaluate potential draft prospects, but there is an office bracket pool, too.
“It’s one of our most fun weeks of the year,” Ainge said.
⋅ The NCAA tournament was slightly less enjoyable for Ainge during his playing career at BYU. He was not part of the regular rotation when the Cougars lost in a first-round game during his freshman year in 2004. And as a senior three years later, eighth-seeded BYU lost to ninth-seeded Xavier in the first round, 79-77.
“It wasn’t great,” Ainge said with a chuckle. “I had a fadeaway at the free throw line to tie the game with about 40 seconds left and I back-rimmed it. Painful.”
⋅ No one is saying much of anything as the bidding process for the sale of the Celtics reaches the final stages. But the consensus among the people I’ve spoken to over the past week is that the Grousbeck family’s final decision is expected quite soon. The group of finalists includes Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca, Philadelphia Phillies co-owner Stan Middleman, Symphony Technology Group managing partner William Chisholm, and The Friedkin Group.
⋅ Isaiah Thomas’s single-season franchise record of 245 3-pointers, set during the 2016-17 season, will almost certainly be topped in the coming weeks. But it’s unclear which Celtic will end the year on top.
Derrick White currently leads the team with 228 3-pointers, followed by Jayson Tatum (227) and Payton Pritchard (223). Tatum should be considered the favorite, but the Celtics, who are all but locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, will likely be most cautious with his playing time down the stretch. The guess here is that Pritchard will play the most minutes of the three over the final 13 games.
⋅ For now, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is leading Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on my MVP ballot. Yes, Oklahoma City leads Denver by 12½ games in the Western Conference standings and Gilgeous-Alexander has been excellent, but Jokic is crafting a truly historic season. Entering Wednesday night he was averaging 29.1 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 10.3 assists while shooting 57.5 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from the 3-point line. Furthermore, the Nuggets have been 18.4 points per 100 possessions better with Jokic on the court, while Gilgeous-Alexander has a plus-13.9 differential.
There could be some Jokic voter fatigue, however, because this would be his fourth MVP award in five years, and Gilgeous-Alexander has yet to win one.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is averaging a triple-double this season.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is averaging a triple-double this season.David Zalubowski/Associated Press
⋅ Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, who has emerged as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, is averaging a league-leading 3.0 steals per game, with a group of four players tied for a distant second with 1.8. Daniels said one former Celtics defensive wizard has been influential.
“If I watch old tape, I watch Marcus Smart’s Defensive Player of the Year season [in 2022-23] and how he was able to get into passing lanes on the ball with active hands and stuff like that,” Daniels told reporters in Charlotte Tuesday.
AJ Dybantsa is on track for NBA stardom
AJ Dybantsa is a high school basketball star and is on track for NBA stardom. His Brockton roots keep him grounded. (Randy Vazquez/ Globe Staff)
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.