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.

“Danny’s gone through a long process,” said Colangelo, hired last month as Philadelphia’s president of basketball operations, thus missing the Okafor discussion. “They’re a few jumps ahead of us with respect to where they stand and where we are, but we’re both holding multiple picks over the next couple of years.

[…] “I don’t know if I want to help the Boston Celtics, given that they’re in the Eastern Conference, but we’ll have to see just how much it helps us when we’re talking about deals with them.”

Herald: Pick-rich Ainge and Colangelo may have business atop draft

In a few days we’ll know who REALLY has the best deals to offer when the draft lottery finally reveals who holds the top picks.

Boston, through Brooklyn, has a shot at the top pick. Philly, through Philly, also has a damn good shot at that pick. But they also, through Los Angeles, have an opportunity to pick first and fourth (the Lakers pick is top-3 protected).

So if Philly gets all the luck, they’ll have the first and fourth picks in the draft to offer a potential suitor, plus a pretty strong big man in Jahlil Okafor… should they decide to move a big to make room for a maybe finally healthy Joel Embiid. If a team is looking for a quick reset in exchange for a superstar, picking first, fourth, and picking up Okafor isn’t a bad way to go.

If Boston lands the top pick, then they can slide into the lead as far as assets go… but Philadelphia could still offer something really competitive if they get the second spot in the draft. Boston’s offer of the first, 16th, and 23rd picks might not be enough to entice someone when picks two and four are on the table. If this really is a two or three-horse draft, Philly might have a shot at screwing this up for Boston trade-wise on draft night.

That is, of course, if they are in competition with each other. There still exists a possibility of revisiting a near-blockbuster deal discussed for Okafor at the trade deadline. Boston is really looking for better production down low and Ainge is tight with Colangelo. And in the NBA, good relationships between GM’s is huge when it comes to getting deals done. People want to deal with people they’re comfortable with, and these guys are really comfortable with each other.

So the possibility of those fireworks finally going off might have increased with the dismissal of Sam Hinke. Philadelphia is looking to flip its assets into something more tangible. The process has been scrapped and replaced with an accelerated plan of reaching respectability.

If they see Boston as far enough ahead of them, they might be open to something mutually beneficial. What do they care if Boston wins a couple of titles in the time it takes them to get good again? If they make a trade that vaults Boston to the top quickly, they could just spend that time becoming incrementally better until it’s their turn to be a contender… and maybe by then Boston will be on the back-side of their run and vulnerable to Philly’s challenge.

It’s a long-term gamble that takes the acceptance of a lot of hard truths on both sides. If each team’s visions fit, then we might be looking at working with Philly rather than against them over the next month. However, if the lottery hands one team significantly better luck than the other, then it could every man for himself and these guys will race to the photo finish touching bumpers the whole way.

Page 2: RJ Hunter was inspired during the loss to Atlanta

“For me, it’s ballhandling, especially with the way it’s going and how much space is on the court with shooters being around. If I add that element to my game then it will take it to the next level. I think once all the strength and conditioning come together and I watch a lot more film and get more experience, it will come together, too.”

Hunter converted 19 of his 63 3-point attempts (30.2 percent) this season. And he acknowledged learning a valuable lesson during the Atlanta series from Kyle Korver, whose constant moving without the ball enabled him to get open for threes against a defense designed to stop him.

“Guys are talented. You could see it up close,” Hunter said. “It’s extremely evident because that gives me the extra push for the summer. Every rep has to be sharp if you’re going to be successful in this league because these guys are way too good.”

Boston Globe (scroll down)

There are people on this site who’ll jump in the comments and declare Hunter a bust after his rookie season. But I caution those people to hold off on their assessments until he has time to work on his game and his body.

His strength and conditioning need work, and he clearly knows that. He’s aware of deficiencies and, importantly, he’s learning how far he needs to go by watching the game unfold before him on the bench. He’s not waiting for coaches to tell him what he needs to do… he’s observing, making mental notes, and using that to push him.

Now comes the hard part for Hunter and every other rookie out there… actually doing the work and making that leap. There’s no guarantee that Hunter ever becomes a good player at all. That’s something that’s going to depend on his ability to work and raise his game. But if his work actually matches his words, then I feel good about his chances.

I don’t know what his ceiling is quite yet, but I do think he can be a good player in the NBA. Whether he develops into a solid role player or more depends on him. I like what I see from him, though, and I think in a couple of years he can be a guy who gets minutes on a contending team.

And Finally…

Mark Murphy’s 5 takeaways from the draft combine are interesting… especially point number one:

there is growing talk among league types that Simmons has grown a little arrogant. The LSU point forward, who didn’t interview with anyone, also didn’t have the kind of freshman season that necessarily warrants that behavior. He didn’t lead the Tigers into the NCAA tournament, and individually there were much better performers in college basketball last season. Duke’s Brandon Ingram, who at least showed up for interviews, including with the Celtics, is now starting to creep ahead of Simmons and into the top spot on some mock drafts.

Just something to watch for. You wonder if all the talk about Simmons being the lock top pick this year got in his head.

Meanwhile, the Dragan Bender chatter gets louder and louder and I’m starting to wonder if falling to third in the draft is such a bad thing after all.

Related links: CSNNE: Stars, studs, and duds at the draft combine

The rest of the links:

CSNNE: Blakely’s mock draft 3.0  |  Michigan State’s Valentine compares his game to Evan Turner