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.

The Boston Celtics continue to hold out hope of swinging a trade for Tayshaun Prince that will get them at least a draft pick in return.

But with each passing day that brings them closer to Thursday’s 3 p.m. (EST) trade deadline, a more likely scenario – a buyout of his contract which is worth $7.7 million – gains steam.

And if that happens, a league source told CSNNE.com on Sunday that the Los Angeles Clippers will make a run at the 6-foot-9 forward.

Prince, who grew up in Compton, Calif., would provide ex-Celtics head coach Doc Rivers with another versatile two-way player with a championship pedigree (2004 NBA champion in Detroit and Olympic gold medal winner) who has shown the ability to fit in with a team contending for a title (Memphis) as well as a team rebuilding (Boston) this season.

CSNNE – Source: Clippers to target Prince if bought out by Celtics 

Who did you think I was going to talk about in trade rumors: Marcus Smart? No, the talk of buying out Prince’s sizable contract shouldn’t be news to anyone. It’s been talked about incessantly since Prince showed up here. I even grilled Tayshaun about it myself when he was traded to the Cs!

But time is of the essence to either find a trade partner (unlikely) or negotiate this deal so that Prince can walk and find a contender. It looks as though that contender could be none other than Doc’s Clippers.  Coach Doc is bemoaning GM Doc to target just about any veteran player as he tries to build some semblance of a bench.

Let’s use this space to be the first to salute (former) Celtic Tayshaun Prince. Tayshaun’s time in Boston has been mutually beneficial to player and team. He’s playing really good basketball, surprisingly so on the offensive end, and it’s clearly helped the Celtics stay in contention in the East. It’ll also help him gain a little more money from a veteran club, and should also result in a meatier buyout number when the Celtics do relieve him of his current contract.

The guy was taken from a title contender in Memphis and dropped onto a star-less Celtics team seemingly headed toward the bottom of the standings. Since that time, he’s been a consummate pro and a rudder for Brad Stevens as he tried to steer this team through a grueling west coast trip.

So, while Brad, the team and many of us green-teamers pine for Danny Ainge to keep the band together, let’s all come to the conclusion that we’ll probably be saying farewell to the member we knew the least. Tayshaun, it’s been real. And thanks for the interview, bro.

On Page 2: Oh, right. Kelly Olynyk!

Lost in Boston’s success over the past 12 games has been that second-year big man Kelly Olynyk has been missing for nearly all of it. Olynyk suffered a bad sprain of his right ankle landing awkwardly on an opponent’s foot in Portland and was in the locker room by the timeEvan Turner made the last-second 3-pointer that ignited Boston’s recent surge.

While Boston has cobbled its way through while shorthanded on bigs — and the blessing in disguise has been an increased opportunity to examine the small-ball lineups that have reinvigorated the offense — getting Olynyk back will add another scoring option off the bench while providing some additional frontcourt flexibility.

Remember that, even when Boston was struggling earlier in the year, Olynyk had some of the best on-court numbers on the Celtics’ roster. After he shakes the initial rust, Olynyk will give Boston a nice boost.

ESPN Boston – What we’re watching in Celtics’ second half

With all the talk around the Celtics about whether fans should embrace a playoff run, or hope for a Knicks-like losing streak coming out of the all-star break, it’s easy to forget that one of the Cs best offensive bigs is on his way back to action. The Celtics should have a healthy, albeit rusty, Kelly Olynyk on Friday night in Sacramento, which serves as a trade deadline type of addition. The Celts have played respectable basketball since KO went down, but have gone through some prolonged shooting slumps in his absence.

Chris Forsberg goes on to break down the potential big man pairings, but the safe bet is that Olynyk will come off the bench for the foreseeable future.

In the meantime, Kelly’s just been hanging out and wandering into photos where he definitely doesn’t belong. 

And finally, someone get Kevin Durant some skittles

“You guys really don’t know s—,” Durant told reporters.

Durant’s striking statement came in response to a question about continued speculation about Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks’ job security. Brooks has often fallen under media criticism the past few seasons, but Durant has always been quick to defend his coach, noting during his MVP speech that Brooks doesn’t get any credit, “even though you deserve all of it.”

Durant was later asked what kinds of questions he’d prefer the media to focus on.

“To be honest, man, I’m only here talking to y’all because I have to,” Durant said. “So I really don’t care. Y’all not my friends. You’re going to write what you want to write. You’re going to love us one day and hate us the next. That’s a part of it. So I just learn how to deal with y’all.”

ESPN – Kevin Durant takes aim at media

If I were dealing with nagging injuries, a team that might not make the playoffs, an incompetent coach and everyone asking about my impending free agency at the end of next season, I’d probably snap, too.

But we’ve definitely never heard KD publicly excoriate members of the media for, well, being the media. Someone’s been playing a little too much Mortal Kombat with Marshawn Lynch.

The rest of the links:

Boston Herald – Celtics could learn from Atlanta’s team dynamic 

Boston Globe – Tyrone Corbin deserved better treatment from Kings