Every morning, or afternoon if we were drinking the night before, 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.

Young looked more engaged and confident in his final two summer league games. The next few weeks before training camp will be critical, and he will spend a portion of that time working out with one of the best, Thunder forward Kevin Durant.

The two share the same agent, and the former MVP invited Young to work out in Los Angeles. Durant is coming off foot surgery that limited him to 27 games last season.

“He’s going to be able to start being able to play soon,” Young said. “I can’t wait. He’s a great guy, a great offensive player, one of the best players in the league, one of my favorite players growing up. He’s an older guy, he’s been in the league and he’s doing great, and why not learn from somebody who is doing great? It will definitely take my game up to another level, especially confidence-wise, too.

Boston Globe – Young to guard Durant

Excuse me for envisioning Kevin Durant and James Young engaging in a training montage straight out of Rocky III, culminating with Young sprinting ahead of KD on a beach in Malibu and the two ending in a jubilant embrace. A month later, Young comes into training camp and takes the Cs by storm, becoming one of the bright young stars of the league. Then, the following year, a 7’2 center out of Russia comes to the United States and Durant challenges him to a game of one-on-one.

Ok. I’ll stop.

In seriousness, if Young does get some time to train with KD, it should serve him well. Durant is many things, but primary among them is a scorer – a shot-maker who can create his own offense. Ideally, as Young grows up in the league, he’ll start to adopt some of those same traits in meaningful minutes. Alex wrote a comprehensive piece on summer league yesterday, which focused solely on the rookie draft picks and their progress.

Young had about the worst possible start to summer league he could have imagined, complete with missed shots and missed games. He finished with some promising play -even though he committed a costly, late foul in Saturday’s loss to the Spurs- and will compete for a spot on the active roster with Hunter among others. The bottom line is that he needs to take shots with confidence and continue to make strides on the defensive end.

Hopefully some time with Apollo, I mean, Durant, will help him make strides.

Related Links – Mass Live: Boston Celtics’ James Young can’t wait to work out with Kevin Durant this off-season

On Page 2, Steez is trying to stick on an NBA roster

The NBA can be a judgmental league. One clash with a coach, open complaint over playing time, or a practice scuffle can lead to a reputation that is difficult to shake.

Such is the case for former Celtic Jordan Crawford, who is on the Mavericks’ summer league squad after spending last season in China and the NBADL.

Crawford is just 26 years old and has consistently shown the ability to score by averaging 12.2 points per game. Yet he is hardly guaranteed a training camp invite come September.

Crawford is trying to erase a reputation that he is a selfish player who only cares about his offense. Instead of being lauded for his scoring ability, it has been considered a negative, which has sent Crawford looking for NBA work after stints with four teams.

[…]

Crawford has averaged 8.8 points and shot 33 percent in the Mavericks’ first five summer league games. The goal, of course, is to procure a training camp invite. Talent has never been an issue for the former first-round pick, but a difficult tenure in Washington, followed by the Celtics dealing him to Golden State in their youth movement, has turned Crawford into a vagabond and a player considered more consumed with numbers than defense. He is trying to change that perception.

“Just making an effort on the defensive end and being a good teammate,” he said of his summer goals. “Showing teams that I’m here to stay.”

Asked why he has such a soiled reputation, Crawford said, “Because I kind of got a little swagger about me. It kind of rubs people the wrong way. I walk in the building and people are kind of scared to come talk to me, but I’m actually an easygoing guy. But that’s the reason I’m so misunderstood, I don’t really talk to nobody.”

Boston Globe – Crawford hopes to improve image

After the way Brad Stevens molded Jordan Crawford into an effective hybrid guard in the winter of 2014, few Cs fans would have thought he’d be in this position just a year and a half later: fighting to get back into the league.

Crawford’s eccentricity is well-documented, and his post-Wizards career is dotted with short stints in different leagues and at different levels. He seems pretty self-aware, though, given his quote about his reputation. The league is more fun with Jordan Crawford in it. I hope he sticks around somewhere. Although 33 percent shooting in Summer League probably isn’t going to cut it.

And Finally, the top teams in the West just keep on getting stronger

The Denver Nuggets have reached agreement to trade guard Ty Lawson to the Houston Rockets, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

Houston will send Kostas Papanikolaou, Pablo Prigioni, Joey Dorsey, Nick Johnson and a protected 2016 first-round draft pick to Denver, sources said. Along with Lawson, the Nuggets will send a 2017 second-round pick to Houston.

Yahoo Sports: Sources: Nuggets trade guard Ty Lawson to Rockets

Lawson’s had his off-court issues in Denver, but talent has never been a question. The Rockets made the Western Conference Final without a true point guard (although James Harden is a pretty effective ball handler) and now add a floor general who can get to the hole, shoot with range and create for others. Add Houston to the top tier of titans in the West with Golden State, OKC, San Antonio and the Clippers. Add Memphis and that leaves the other nine teams in the West to battle for two spots. Um, good luck, guys.