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.
Another league executive with knowledge of Jeff Schwartz’ dealings said the agent is investigating Pierce’s marketability heading into this summer’s free agent megamarket.
The agent reportedly has looked into the interest of teams, including the Knicks and Clippers, franchises with significant cap space that may lose out on the likes of LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.
Would those teams, to stave off disappointment, bring in Pierce in a max-contract slot, or perhaps even in conjunction with another big name? It’s unlikely such an idea would float for a New York public that has been expecting James for the last two years.
The Celtics also have the option of renouncing Pierce, should he void the last year of his contract. Veteran minimums and the mid-level exception aside, this would leave them with approximately $15 million to spend on another max-level free agent.
Herald - Decision Time for Pierce, Celtics
Everything starts with Doc Rivers. If he returns, so do Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. They will make the numbers work. If Doc walks, then it's quite possible this team unravels quickly.
Pierce has repeatedly said he wants to retire a Celtic, but what if another team ponies up $25-$30 million more than the Celtics? What if that team has some attractive players? All these 'what ifs' are making my head explode.
Ainge could renounce Pierce’s rights, get under the cap, and begin the
rebuilding process in earnest. Ainge always said Auerbach
should have broken up the original Big Three when he had the chance. Red
got sentimental. And the Celtics got lousy for a good long stretch. It took a few bold
moves from a fearless young general manager in the summer of 2007 to
get them back atop the NBA. Time for that general manager to get bold all over again. He could
lose his coach and his captain in the next few weeks, but Ainge can’t
lose his nerve. The Celtics need it now more than ever.
Herald - Hey Danny, time to be bold
Gerry Callahan makes a (lazy) case for letting Pierce walk. It's akin to a drunk guy in Sully's tab screaming "We're too old, we gotta rebuild" after the Game 7 loss.
On Page 2, the free-agent summit did take place.... or maybe it didn't.
Yet sources with knowledge of the meeting stressed to ESPN.com that James, while clearly intrigued by the possibility of forming a star-studded Miami trio with Wade and Bosh, has not yet committed to leaving his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers for South Beach.
ESPN - Sources: Trio talk free agency scenarios
UPDATE: The Miami Herald is reporting that if the summit happened, it wasn't in Miami.
What are the chances all three of these guys are signed by 12:05am on July 1st? I can't take all the speculation anymore.
The rest of the links:
ESPN Boston - Rivers future headlines busy week | NESN - Despite injury, Perk remains Celtics center of present, future | Celtics Hub - The actual cap situation | Celtics Blog - What if... |