Cooper Flagg attended the NBA Draft Combine last week in Chicago.
Cooper Flagg attended the NBA Draft Combine last week in Chicago.Michael Reaves/Getty
Maine native Cooper Flagg, who grew up watching tapes of the 1980’s Celtics and is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in next moth’s draft had an interview with the Celtics at the NBA Draft Combine last week, according to Yahoo! Sports’s Kevin O’Connor.
ESPN reported last week that the Dallas Mavericks, who won the draft lottery, will not entertain the possibility of trading the No. 1 overall pick. They are reportedly planning to take Flagg.
But, given Flagg’s talent and New England roots, along with Brad Stevens’s skill at swinging trades, the minuscule possibility of Flagg somehow ending up on the Celtics is one that some haven’t been ready to completely close the door on.
Flagg wasn’t the only player that the Celtics reportedly interviewed at the combine. Texas guard Tre Johnson also interviewed with Boston, according to the Yahoo! report.
Stevens was asked about the interviews during his end-of-the-season press conference on Monday. They were opportunities to talk to players they wouldn’t usually get the chance to talk to, he said.
“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 said. “Otherwise, we may never get to talk to them again. 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,” Stevens added. “Will there be fireworks on draft night, I can’t imagine but again, who knows? I wouldn’t guess with us, no.”
Stevens said moving up to select Flagg or Johnson is highly unlikely. Such a trade would involve a substantial amount of assets.
It cost Philadelphia an additional first-round pick to move up just two spots to No. 1 when the Celtics traded down and selected Jayson Tatum in 2018. The Magic got Penny Hardaway and three first-round picks for Chris Webber 1993. The Celtics acquired Robert Parish and the No. 3 overall pick (used to take Kevin McHale) when they traded down from No. 1 in 1980.
Moving up from a late-round slot like No. 28 or 32 would be even more pricey.
“I think 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’s the case.”
“No specifics at all, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see movement continue to happen across the league,” he added. “But, as far as us and moving up to those levels in the draft, I would guess that is probably not on the table.”
Khari Thompson can be reached at khari.thompson@globe.com.