Brad Stevens reveals motive behind Cooper Flagg interview for Celtics
BOSTON — The Celtics, like 29 other NBA teams, are assigned 20 players to interview at the NBA Draft Combine every May in Chicago. Heads turned last week when Yahoo Sports reported that projected No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg was one of the players Boston interviewed, despite the fact the Celtics hold just the No. 28 and No. 32 picks in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Was the interview with the New England phenom an indication that the Celtics are trying to do something splashy on draft night? Not quite, according to Brad Stevens.
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'We can rank who we want to talk to,' Stevens said of combine interviews on Monday at his season-ending press conference. 'The people we know who we can't get in to work out is how we decide who we want to talk to. Otherwise, we may never get to talk to them again. So the only people that come and work out for us are the people that think they're in a range or bottom of our range, or 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 again, who knows? I wouldn't guess with us, no.'
The Celtics could be making some splashy moves with big names this offseason amid a financial crunch following a disappointing second-round exit. However, that activity will not be coming on draft night, according to Stevens.
'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 even big-picture, that's the case. I think there are no specifics at all. But I wouldn't be surprised to see movement continue to happen across the league. But as far as us and moving up to those levels in the draft, I would guess that that is probably not a thing.'
Boston currently holds their own first round pick at No. 28 overall and an early second-round pick at No. 32 (via Washington).
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'We'll evaluate who we think will be available at 28 and 32,' Stevens said. '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, whatever, we'll see how it all goes. But I think when you're at 28 and 32 you're not exactly able to pinpoint exactly how that night's going to go.'
The 2025 NBA Draft will take place over two nights at the Barclays Center beginning June 25th.
Read the original article on MassLive.
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