"What's next?" is the biggest question looming around the Boston Celtics. They were just prematurely (relative to expectations) eliminated from the NBA Playoffs and were dealt a crushing injury blow with Jayson Tatum tearing his Achilles last week. With CBA restrictions creeping up on them, the Celtics are due for a busy summer.
The literal answer to the "What's next?" question is easy, it's the NBA Draft, of course. We're just over a month away from the big night(s) at Barclays Center, which will serve as the first opportunity for Celtics President of Basketball Operations [Brad Stevens](https://hardwoodhoudini.com/painful-celtics-hope-recent-reality-tatum-brad-stevens-porzingis) to bring in new talent.
Boston currently holds picks 28 and 32 in this year's draft. The pair of picks is quite valuable, considering this weird, inbetween situation the Celtics are in. Tatum's injury is likely going to keep him sidelined for the entirety of the 2025-26 campaign, and there will likely be some departing cast members to cut costs.
“I don't think it changes at all for us," Stevens said of the current situation's effects on the draft process. "We'll evaluate who we think will be available at 28 and 32. We just got done with two draft workouts today, and so we'll have plenty of time to thoroughly evaluate who we think those people might be. And if we want to try to move up, try to move back, you know, whatever. We'll see how it kind of all goes. I think when you're at 28 and 32, you're not exactly able to pinpoint exactly how that night's gonna go.”
There can be an argument made for both the "try and remain competitive" and "try and be as bad as possible" camps. Regardless of which path the Cs choose, there's going to be an opportunity for current and incoming young players to try and make their mark. It may sound inconsequential or boring, but the fact of the matter is that these draft picks offer a chance to add talent at a low price, which is extremely important with the league's financial rules.
**It does not sound like the Celtics are going to trade up for Cooper Flagg, sorry**
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Though picks 28 and 32 can turn out to be key in Boston's quest to reshape their roster on the fly, they aren't the most exciting picks to have. While there's a chance to land some quality talent, it's certainly less fun than being able to select one of the top prospects, like Duke's Cooper Flagg.
Flagg is a player most Celtics fans are very familiar with, considering he is one of them. The versatile forward grew up in Maine, [watching old tapes of the 1986 NBA championship Celtics team](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/42271118/the-tiny-town-legendary-1980s-nba-boston-celtics-team-built-cooper-flagg) in his living room. In a recent promotional interview for the NBA Draft Combine, Flagg pointed to Tatum as his favorite player.
It's no surprise that the fanbase started to bustle with excitement last week when Yahoo's Kevin O'Connor said that Boston had interviewed the Duke forward at this year's combine.
Stevens was indirectly asked about Flagg and the interview at the combine, and shut down any rumors of any sort of trading up to draft him.
“So, the way that this works is we can rank who we want to talk to," he explained. "The people we know we can’t get into work out is how we decide who we want to talk to at the combine. Otherwise, we might not ever get to talk to them again. The only people that’ll come in and work out are people who think they’re in our range, or in the bottom of our range, whatever the case may be. So that doesn’t really have anything to do with any of that. ‘Will there be fireworks on draft night?’ I can’t imagine, but, who knows? I wouldn’t guess with us, no.”
When Stevens was coaching the Celtics, he'd always stress the importance of "trying to hit singles." With picks 28 and 32, that's the most logical approach for him to take next month.
Ahead of last year's draft Stevens emphasized a philosophy of sustainable success, which was something he felt both Baylor Scheierman and Anton Watson could contribute to after being drafted by the Celtics. Of course, Watson is no longer with the team. But, Scheierman was quite impressive anytime he got extended minutes as a rookie. It's not difficult to see how he could be an impactful rotation player on a championship-level roster.
The goal this year is likely the same. Find a pair of guys who can grow and contribute to winning once the roster is at full strength once again.
"My goal is always, and will always be, to try to best position us to compete for championships.”