Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
Stevens, who is coming off his third season in Boston, says he will play whatever role he can in trying to recruit players, but noted he considers the Celtics’ history to be the biggest draw.
“I’ll play an active role. I’ll do anything that I can as far as meeting with guys, calling guys, whatever I can after the July 1 time frame when we’re given the go-ahead to meet with those guys. I think the best selling point, I would say that I’m probably not near that. I think that the tradition, the history, the way that the city embraces the Celtics, the way that our players feel about being Celtics, the amount of pride that they’ve taken in that, and this group in particular, how thankful they’ve been to get a chance to play in front of these fans and in this place where those banners hang above you —
to me, that’s the top of the list.“I’m a basketball guy; I love the game and I love the tradition and the history and the tradition of the game. Maybe that just means to me, but I think it means a lot to a lot of people. Certainly there are other factors involved, when ultimately free agents have to choose a place to play, but for me, those were a lot of the things that obviously flattered me about being asked to be the coach here.”
Tradition and the Boston fans are no doubt a positive for prospective free agents. But I put them fifth on the list behind: Money, chance to win, fit, and weather.
Brad Stevens is part of “chance to win” and “fit.” He’s also way too humble to say or even think he’s the top draw for free agents. But he’s the main reason Kevin Durant will consider the Celtics.
Equal to Stevens is the team’s financial flexibility. If KD wants to play with another free agent, Danny Ainge is going to sign that free agent.
Everything else… Isaiah Thomas, the up-and-coming roster, the Eastern conference, are all secondary factors.
Hey Brad, do you have anything in your bag of tricks that improves the weather?
On Page 2, Danny Ainge 6th in Executive of the Year voting.
The Celtics president of basketball operations finished sixth in the NBA Executive of the Year award voting, according to results released by the league Monday afternoon. Ainge’s finish marks the third straight time he has landed in the top seven for the award, which is decided by the NBA’s executives.
The San Antonio Spurs’ R.C. Buford narrowly edged the Portland Trail Blazers’ Neil Olshey to take home the award. Ainge picked picked up one first-place vote, two second-place votes and two third-place votes to finish behind Buford, Olshey, Bob Myers (Golden State Warriors), Masai Ujiri (Toronto Raptors) and Rich Cho (Charlotte Hornets), in that order.
Congrats to Danny Ainge. You better win the damn award next season.
And finally, Steph Curry is back…
40 points, including an NBA record 17 points in overtime as the Warriors beat the Blazers.
Bow your head…
