Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump

“It’s challenging because there’s always things that you think you might be able to do to get a tiny bit better, but our goals are much bigger than that,” said Ainge. “We want to hang banners in Boston. Ultimately, that’s what drives all of our decisions.”

With the offseason essentially in the rearview mirror, did Ainge emerge satisfied from the summer?

“I don’t know about that. I feel like there were things that we wanted to do that we weren’t able to do,” he admitted. “There were some things that were tempting that we didn’t do that I’m very glad we didn’t do. I like that we were able to get some things accomplished, although we weren’t able to get a big big deal accomplished, like we wanted to. But I’m excited about our two young guys [Marcus Smart and James Young] that we drafted and I’m very happy that we’ve got Avery [Bradley] coming back. I really like our young core.”

ESPN Boston:  Ainge:  We want to hang banners in Boston

The most annoying thing I heard this summer is “Danny Ainge has no plan.”  I heard it almost every day in July as days rolled by without a move.

But it takes a lot of people to make a plan work.  Miami had a plan that involved keeping LeBron James, but that didn’t quite work out, and neither did the Celtics’ plans of significantly upgrading their roster this summer.  Maybe some day we’ll learn what those tempting things were, and maybe we’ll find out that Ainge should have pulled the trigger on something, but in the end, the team has to be satisfied that the move is, as Ainge says, going to help the Celtics hang banners.

Look, I get it… it’s frustrating to watch a crappy team.  The last month of last season was pretty unbearable.  We all want to go back to the days where Christmas Day meant a potential playoff preview rather than the beginning of working on our draft preview.   But for now we have to trust that the moves presented to the Celtics wouldn’t have gotten the Celtics where they needed to be.

We all want the Celtics to be better, but we don’t want them to become perennial 5th-seeds.  People call the 8th-seed purgatory but that’s wrong.  Purgatory in the NBA is starting every post-season in that 4/5 series, because at that point you’re deluded into thinking the team is a player or two away from a top seed, when the team really has hit its peak.  The Atlanta Hawks have been the prime example of this, having wasted YEARS of Al Horford’s effectiveness with teammates that weren’t good enough to get past that middle-seed status.

You want purgatory?  Years of first or second-round knockouts is it.  Just good enough to be good.  Just bad enough to never truly contend.  I’d rather be bad and remove the false hope than be a middle seed.  And for all we know, whatever Ainge passed on would have gotten us no further than that.

It takes discipline to pass on a deal that would make the team better in the short-term if you don’t think it’ll help you in the long-term.  It’s like being stranded on a deserted island with a little bit of food.  You can use what you have as bait to catch a feast, but you’d better be sure you’re catching something substantial with that bait.. otherwise you’re just going to end up hungry again before you kn0w it.

Jeez, I gotta stop binge watching Survivorman.

Related links:  WEEI:  Ainge’s quest to hang another banner in Boston

Page 2: The NBA, and Rondo, surprised Marcus Smart

“It’s totally different than what I expected it to be,” said Smart, who was among the Celtics players attending the Shamrock Foundation’s fundraiser. “He’s one of the premier guards and he shows it and his play shows why he is. Some of the things he does on the court, it’s like, ‘How did he do that?’ Just being able to be around him and learn from him is an amazing feeling.”

[…] “I didn’t know he was that strong,” Smart said. “He’s stronger than what I expected he would be.”

CSNNE: Smart learning from Rondo during precamp workouts
(clicking image above takes you to video on Celtics.com)

At the beginning of that video, Smart talks about how the work to get ready for the NBA season has already begun for him, where in college guys didn’t begin formal workouts until October.  People may not realize how much offseason work really goes into playing in the NBA, and that it truly is a year-round thing.  Aside from maybe a month off once the season ends to rest and recharge, guys are working on their games somehow for the rest of the year.

As for Rondo, Smart says one of the big surprises was that he didn’t get the full-on rookie treatment right away, and that Rondo and the rest of the guys are working with him to get him acclimated.  Smarts a competitive guy, but Rondo seems to be giving him an extra lesson in the NBA’s version of competition.

There’s more in the video, including Smart talking about his time on the USA Select team.  He handled all the questions with the maturity and grace that he’s handled everything since draft night, which really should quell any questions about his character that may linger from college.  I think the more we see of this kid, the less we can worry about what really was an isolated incident.

I really think there is room for Smart in a 3-guard rotation with the Celtics, and that he, Rondo, and Avery Bradley can fit in the Celtics system.  Of course, I say that in September without Smart having set foot on a court with either of them in any official capacity, but I think he’s got the right attitude and ability to figure it out.

Related links:  MassLive: Smart surprised after pick up games against Rondo

 The rest of the links:

ESPN Boston:  Chip shots from Celtics golf tournament  |  C’s brass:  Celtics want to keep Rondo  |  Herald:  As always, Rondo topic of discussion  |  CSNNE:  Truth meter: do Celtics want to keep Rondo  |  Babb continues to think positive heading into camp  |  Celtics insist Rondo is part of long term plans  |  Sullinger embraces new role with Celtics  |  Grousbeck: Celtics aren’t for sale  |  Boston.com:  Ainge on Rondo rumors: Very credible people made things up  |  WEEI:  Rebuild spotlight:  What to expect from Sullinger, Olynyk, Zeller  |  Faverani expected to be ready for camp, faces discipline for DUI  |  Globe:  Grousbeck: It’s my goal to keep Rondo  |  Celtics Brass tempers expectations for upcoming season  |  MassLive: Babb “not really thinking” about roster situation  |  Sullinger, Olynyk “look good”  |  Wallace, Faverani should be healthy enough for start of camp  |  Ainge wants Rondo, says deals would be more difficult without star