Cooper Flagg is the crown jewel of the 2025 NBA Draft class, a projected No. 1 overall pick with multi-time All-NBA potential.
But don’t sleep on the next-best player in the draft.
Rutgers guard Dylan Harper currently projects as the No. 2 pick in the draft behind Flagg, and with good reason: The 19-year-old averaged 19.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game for the Scarlet Knights last season and has significant upside as a two-way guard in the NBA.
The Boston Celtics have no shot at landing Harper with the 28th pick in the first round. But could they land the Rutgers star via trade? In Part II of his “Offseason Path” series, our Celtics Insider Chris Forsberg laid out a bold scenario in which Boston sends Jaylen Brown to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for the No. 2 pick and a combination of young players such as Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson.
Chris Forsberg is breaking down a major trade rumor that would send Jaylen Brown to the San Antonio Spurs.
Boston trading Brown — a four-time All-Star who is set to be the team’s No. 1 option while Jayson Tatum recovers from Achilles surgery — would be a very bold move, and the Celtics likely would explore several other avenues to trim their payroll and get under the NBA’s second apron before deciding to part with a franchise cornerstone.
But if trading Brown means bringing back a player like Harper, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens may have to consider it. Yahoo Sports’ NBA insider Kevin O’Connor shared what he’s hearing about Harper during NBC Sports Boston’s The OffC’season special Wednesday.
“If the Spurs made an offer you can’t say no to, well, Dylan Harper might be the great point guard next to Jayson Tatum,” O’Connor told Forsberg and co-host Drew Carter.
“I like Harper a lot. … The jump shot, in the context of San Antonio, I worry about, because they have Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox there. But for Boston — let’s just say, theoretically, that’s what happened — I would love Dylan Harper, surrounded by space in the Boston Celtics’ ‘Mazzulla Ball’ system, with Tatum by his side and those guys sharing the ball together.”
The Celtics have leaned heavily on 3-point shooting under head coach Joe Mazzulla, and Harper shot just 33.3 percent beyond the arc at Rutgers last season. But Harper’s shooting can always improve, and Boston would benefit greatly from his playmaking abilities.
“Harper can play off-ball, but the shooting — it’d be a little less important for him in Boston than it would be in San Antonio, where they need shooting around Victor Wembanyama,” O’Connor said. “But for the Celtics, man, I can’t imagine. He is so good at getting downhill, a foul magnet, great playmaker on his drives to the basket. He would be a haul.”
So, what’s the ceiling for Harper?
“A lot of people around the NBA — like, everybody has Cooper Flagg for the most part ahead of Dylan Harper — but there are a lot of people who consider Dylan Harper a can’t-miss prospect, a guy who can change a franchise,” O’Connor said.
“I’m not quite on the same level with him, but I do think at a minimum, he’s going to be a good player for a decade in the NBA.”
The Spurs ultimately may decide to keep the No. 2 pick and create a three-headed monster of young talent in Wembanyama, Castle and Harper. But that would make for a crowded backcourt with Fox also in the mix, so it might be worth keeping an eye on San Antonio as the June 25 draft approaches.
Check out more offseason analysis from Forsberg, O’Connor and Carter below:
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