Your Morning Dump… Where Summer League starts today

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.

“I thought Luke played great today,” said Austin Ainge, the D-League
affiliate leader who’s running the C’s summer entry. “He really runs the
floor well. With that kind of big body (a stocky 6-foot-8), you
wouldn’t expect it, but he gets up and goes. He really runs the floor.


“And he’s got a knack for finding places to score. I guess when you
score 25 points a game in college, there’s a reason for it.”


And there’s a reason Harangody isn’t a threat to any assist records.

“He shoots it,” Ainge said. “That’s what he’s there for, though. I
want him to shoot. He’s a good shooter.

Luke is smart and tough and skilled. His obvious deficiency is his
lack of size, which will hurt him on the defensive end. But offensively
he’s got all the moves, and he’s got a knack for scoring.”

Herald: Luke Harangody scores big with staff

We don't know how this kid will turn out… but don't be shocked if we're writing about another second round steal by Danny Ainge.

I'll say the same thing that's been said before… and sorta said by Austin Ainge there:  You don't score more than 2,000 points and get more than 1,000 rebounds without having some level of ability.  But can he turn that level of ability into a viable NBA game?  That's the big question.  He was undersized in college… so he'll face a tough road.

So we'll start seeing what its like when he faces bigger competition today.  They take on OKC's squad at 5pm

(Video via Celtics.com)

On Page 2: a couple of summer leaguers pushing each other

During the Celtics’ quest for a championship, Tony Gaffney and Oliver
Lafayette were on journey of their own. The two rookies were trying to
make it in the NBA.



“It’d be tough having to do this alone,” Gaffney told WEEI.com. “It’s
cool doing this with somebody else who’s in the same situation as you.”


This week, the pair has the chance to make their mark on the Celtics
Summer League roster in Orlando.


They are no longer the new guys in town. Both were signed to
non-guaranteed contracts with the Celtics in April and were with the
team during their entire playoff run. They shared in the ups and downs
of transitioning to life in the NBA, and along the way formed a support
system for one another. The two could practically finish each other’s
sentences.



“He hates having me around,” Gaffney joked.


“No,” Lafayette said with a smile. “I like having Tony around, knowing
someone else is working hard just like I’m working hard. We push each
other. We push each other for the best.”

WEEI/Jess Camerato: Gaffney, Lafayette to push each other at summer league

It's a pretty cool story worth checking out.  Gaffney has some pretty nice words for Lafayette. 

The thing with these guys right now is when you hear all their stories, you want to root for them all… but they can't all make it.  It will be interesting to see how it all pans out.

The rest of the links:

Herald: Tony Gaffney takes a big step tonight  |  Johnson gets Max from Atlanta  |  Globe: Harangody has lots to do at summer camp  |  For Pierce & C's, seemingly a good deal all around

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