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.

Dr. Ramsay’s passing got us thinking back to a brief cameo he made with the Celtics back in 2001 when his son-in-law, Jim O’Brien, was coaching the green. From Peter May in the Boston Globe from October of that year:

They walked out to the floor side by side. It was Jim O’Brien’s first exhibition game in his first full season as head coach of the Boston Celtics. It was Jack Ramsay’s first game as the Celtics’ Unofficial Gray Eminence for the coach, who also happens to be his son-in-law.

The presence of the venerable Ramsay during these first two weeks of training camp has been a boon to the new coach. O’Brien has a Hall of Fame mind at his beck and call at every practice (and probably at the dinner table as well). Ramsay, 76, won almost 1,110 games as a coach in college and in the NBA and was named one of the top 10 coaches in NBA history in 1996. He knows his stuff.

Needless to say, “in-law” in the O’Brien house doesn’t conjure up images of hard-of-hearing retirees who don’t know when to leave or when to stop talking. O’Brien and Ramsay talk often during the season, probably more than most in-laws do. After O’Brien took over last January from Rick Pitino, the calls got more frequent, the talk more inquisitive. When O’Brien opened his first training camp as the Celtics’ head coach, he asked his father-in-law to come along for the ride.

It’s been as much fun for Ramsay as it has been helpful for O’Brien.

“It’s the first time I’ve been on the floor with him when he’s actually been coaching as the head coach,” Ramsay said before last night’s exhibition opener against the Hornets. “To watch him coach every day has really been very rewarding for me. I think he’s done an excellent job, and the players have been very receptive to what he’s trying to do.”

ESPN Boston – When Dr. Jack helped the Celts

A small but very cool connection worth sharing (and a short break from the Sterling stuff). Doc mentioned during last night’s post game that Ramsay’s passing wasn’t getting nearly enough attention amidst everything else going on, and he’s right. Apparently Ramsay’s daughter Sharon met O’Brien back in high school. What a coincidence — one of the NBA’s greatest coaches just happens to have a son-in-law who coached in the NBA.  O’Brien probably had years of picking up and learning from Ramsay before he jumped into more serious coaching opportunities, and although Jim O’Brien’s time as a head coach in Boston wasn’t exactly the prettiest romance, the fact that Ramsay took the time to help both his son-in-law and the Boston Celtics is a pretty cool stuff.

Page 2: The Warriors were ready to boycott last night’s game

The plan was set, the product of a 30-minute players meeting.

The Warriors were going to go through pre-game warm-ups and take part in the national anthem and starting line-up introductions. They were going to take the floor for the jump ball, dapping up the Clippers players as is customary before games.

Then once the ball was in the air, they were just going to walk off. All 15 of them.

“It would have been our only chance to make a statement in front of the biggest audience that we weren’t going to accept anything but the maximum punishment,” Curry said. “We would deal with the consequences later but we were not going to play.”

Mercury News – Warriors had blueprint for a dramatic boycott 

Silver’s ruling was widely accepted as a sufficient one, and so this idea was likely scrapped after the teams watched yesterday’s conference. Still, imagine if things had gone even a little differently — would an indefinite suspension not have been enough? I wonder where the play/protest line was drawn.

Seeing two teams boycott a playoff game they’ve worked since October to play in would have been surreal to watch, and it’d had been an ugly mark on both the NBA and Adam Silver’s tenure as NBA’s commissioner. Thankfully for all the players, coaches, and fans, business was taken care of and we all got to watch the Clippers take a 3-2 series lead (unless you had to work in the morning, that is).

And finally, Floyd Mayweather Jr. wants to buy the Clippers

“I can’t come in here talking about Mayweather only going to get 3% or 4%,” Mayweather, a huge Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers fan, said at the MGM Grand. “I got to get a solid percentage.

“But do we want to buy the Clippers? Yes we do. We’re very, very interested in buying the Clippers.”

Asked if he would then move the Clippers to Las Vegas, Mayweather said, “No, we’ll leave the Clippers right where they’re at. Actually when I’m not boxing, I’m at the games all the time anyway, because I can walk to the games (from his Los Angeles home).”

USA Today – Mayweather interested in Clippers

A bunch of celebrities hinted at (on twitter) wanting to buy the Clippers: Diddy, Rick Ross…Frankie Muniz… all making note. With some help, Mayweather’s a guy who probably could afford making this a reality, although how would Silver feel about handing off and NBA team from a racist owner to a big-time sports gambler? The article actually quotes Mayweather saying that giving up gambling would be the hardest part of owning a franchise. Mayweather also goes on to say he’s never had a problem with Donald Sterling.

The rest of the links:

CSNNE – Owners have authority | NBA Lottery simulation | Grousbeck: Rivers couldn’t have seen this coming

ESPN Boston – Garnett, Pierce feel for former coach Rivers | C’s owners stand for ‘inclusion and equality’ | Report Card: Chris Johnson

Masslive – Donald Sterling banned for life | Larry Bird did not look too thrilled watching Pacers collapse |