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.

The intriguing breakfast between Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo on Thursday morning in Boston was indeed just breakfast.

The two stars had planned for weeks on meeting up for a meal when the Lakers were in Boston, sources told ESPN.com.

While there are no active talks between the two franchises involving a trade for Rondo, sources said the teams did have a brief discussion a few months ago.

Anyone else wonder what Rondo and Kobe talked about at breakfast? A couple of years back, we probably would have been none the wiser of the confab, Chris Forsberg writes. Story

It’s not clear which team initiated the call.

Rondo will be a free agent this summer, and sources stressed that the Celtics would prefer to re-sign him.

Their willingness to engage in talks regarding Rondo is merely informational at this point, sources said.

ESPN.com – Kobe-Rondo breakfast simply social

The most intrigue from the Celtics season thus far has involved omelettes, bacon, toast and orange juice.  Oh and a couple of former NBA champions.  Just two guys eating breakfast, nothing to see here.  Maybe not.  According to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, the Celtics and Lakers have recently had a “discussion” a few months ago.   If a breakfast garnered so much wild speculation get ready for some madness from  “The discussion.”  For more on “The breakfast,” see below:

 

And so the man who passes too much and the man who doesn’t pass enough got together Thursday morning for some orange juice and toast. Celtics fans immediately suspected Bryant of tampering, while Lakers fans raced to ESPN’s trade machine to figure out a way to get the point guard they often say is totally overrated but would love to see in purple and gold to help rescue the 2014-15 season.

At least this year’s Celtics-Lakers matchup is getting some buzz now. Before Thursday morning, the Boston-L.A. game was just a gathering of two teams trying to avoid another year in the lottery; a reminder of the rebuilding process that each franchise is navigating with the pressure of a combined 33 title banners staring down at them.

The Celtics are trying to steady themselves after a frustration-filled first month of the season, but their future remains murky, especially with Rondo set to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer. The 36-year-old Bryant says he’s willing to be patient with Los Angeles’ rebuilding process, but he clearly would prefer to hit an accelerator pedal before his arms go numb from all the shots he’s taking.

OK, so maybe he was recruiting Rondo.

ESPN Boston – Breakfast of Champions?

If you ever find yourself in Boston around the Beacon Hill area looking for a good breakfast, The Paramount is a fantastic choice.  It’s a bit nostalgic of being in elementary school where you wait in line and order the food as you go.  You pay at the register and bring you plates to any available table.  Here’s the thing about the Paramount though.  While it’s great for common people like you and I, it’s not exactly the best part if you’re a famous athlete or celebrity.  For Rajon Rondo and Kobe Bryant, they don’t seem to care about that privacy… at least over breakfast.

As Chris Forsberg outlined in his story above, let’s say Kobe is obviously recruiting Rondo (because well there’s no way it works the other way around, right?)  Makes sense that the Lakers are in dire need of star players to support Rondo.  Rondo prefers passing over scoring (so much so that he’s been averaging 2PPG for what seems like a month) and nobody loves scoring more than Kobe.

There are lots of hurdles in the way here though. For one thing, the Lakers don’t really have much that would appeal to the Celtics other than vague draft picks and Steve Nash’s expiring corpse.  So it would seem more likely that Kobe is making his sales pitch for free agency.  Still, the Celtics can offer Rondo more than the Lakers (or anyone) even without giving him the max.

It’s an interesting story for sure, especially since neither team is a serious threat in the league.  And the thought of Rondo playing for the Lakers is like a kick to the balls, especially if he gets recruited to leave right in our front yard.  There’s a long way to go until then unless a third team gets involved or something crazy happens.  Until then let the mad speculation continue.  With Rondo and Kobe, the drama always does, from coast to coast… even if the two organizations currently doesn’t provide any of it on the court.  It’s still Celtics vs Lakers in some way, and that will always matter.

Page 2: Smart fires bricks while Young is on fire

Rookies Marcus Smart, James Young and Dwight Powell have been assigned to the Maine Red Claws for a Thursday night game against Fort Wayne, the Boston Celtics announced Thursday afternoon.

Young and Powell have both gone through the D-League shuttle before, but this will be Smart’s first stint with the Red Claws.

With the Celtics off Thursday, it’s safe to assume the team wants him to get some extra reps. He still hasn’t gone through a full practice with scrimmaging since suffering a left ankle injury on Nov. 7. The guard returned to the lineup Wednesday night after a 10-game absence, but only played for a stretch of 4:38 in the second quarter.

MassLive – Marcus Smart among three rookies assigned to Maine Red Claws

Continuing his rehab from a badly sprained ankle, Marcus Smart joined James Young and Dwight Powell on the Maine Red Claws.  They played a game last night against Ft. Wayne and Smart struggled with his shot, going 1-12 from the field (0-8 3FGA) for just 6 points. He did chip in with 5 rebounds and 7 assists.  James Young however was on fire, dropping 31 points on 9-15 FG (7-10 on threes) along with 9 rebounds and 3 assists.  Powell also scored 21 points while going 9-14 from the field.  It’s good to see these guys get some run on the off day. Both Smart and Young had an eye-opening box score, for different reasons.

The rest of the links:

ESPN Boston – Rajon Rondo: “I’ve not been myself” | Sullinger Diary: On losing, facing the media and more

Boston Globe – Rajon Rondo of Celtics has been struggling | Lakers’ losing is tough on Byron Scott, Kobe Bryant

Boston Herald – Extra work for Marcus Smart | Lakers plight rivals Celtics

CSNNE – Welcome to breakfast with Kobe & Rondo, now relax | The Celtics five-week report | Blakeley’s first-quarter NBA awards

WEEI – Greg Monroe willing to ‘weigh options” with Celtics