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.

Asked then about that structure, he said, “I don’t know exactly what I can and can’t say, but the bottom line is I’m contracted for six years, and that’s my intention, to be here for six years.”

But he’s not about to freak out when an uninvolved party puts his name on a school’s “wish list.”

“It doesn’t bother me,” Stevens told us. “It’s very flattering.”

Then he added, “Hey, if the Celtics decide to go in a different direction at some point, I may need employment and I may have to figure that out. But, again, it’s flattering to be considered for those positions, to be discussed for those things. But I left one place, and leaving a place where you’ve invested a lot, where you’ve worked, where you’re tight with the people and you’re all trying to work together to achieve something and you have a staff, that’s tough to do.

“I’ve been fortunate to have that here. I feel good about where we’re headed. How quickly we get there, I don’t know. I have no idea. I don’t think anybody really does. But I think we’ve got a really good foundation of a lot of things to move forward with.”

But, again, Stevens isn’t being presumptuous.

“I have no idea where this will lead for me down the road,” he said. “Maybe the Celtics will decide to go in another direction a couple of years from now or next year or whatever. But my grand vision would be when the team continues to get better and better and better and you fight as long as you can in the playoffs, then when you have a change in roster and you may go into a dip, it’s not a huge dip. You know, it’s not that dropoff. You’ve got a way of doing things established, people know what to expect when they come here, they like it here and you have a group that plays for each other all the time. That’s my vision.”

Boston Herald – Brad Stevens is no follower

There’s a lot to digest from Brad Stevens in the piece above, and at first glance, the subtext of Stevens’ words can be interpreted as being noncommittal. I have no idea where this will lead for me down the road…Maybe the Celtics will decide to go in another direction… I don’t know. I have no idea… I may need employment”

But then you remember who Brad Stevens is and you remember his coaching philosophy. He’s never too focused on what’s down the road, choosing instead to stay in the current moment as he strives for improvement. It’s actually refreshing to hear Stevens eschew standard rah-rah coach-speak. There’s no I’m the head coach of the Boston Celtics and I plan to be here for a long time. Guys who blurt out proclamations such as those are often prone to jumping ship. One gets the feeling that even if Stevens makes a deep playoff run in the next few years, his answers about his future will remain relatively the same.

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The article actually begins by noting Stevens’ lack of twitter activity; he’s tweeted only twice since coming to Boston. Luckily, here at Reds Army we were able to unearth a secret account of Brad Stevens. Let’s just say he’s not as close-lipped as we initially thought. Tweets include:

@NotMLCarr 8/1/13

Happy to be the new Celtics Head Coach. Danny Gave me lots of $ to coach here and promised to build a Steak N Shake across the street from the Garden. Miss the Midwest 🙁

@NotMLCarr 10/15/13

Fu*k all this “about the process” BS. We aren’t very good. Hey @TomCrean how warm does your a$$ feel? Seat getting hot?? 😉

@NotMLCarr 11/20/13

Hey @danielrainge. The Steak N Shake. Seriously. My family is growing restless

@NotMLCarr 8/24/14

@RajonRondo slipped in the shower and that’s how he broke his hand? Rajon, eff showers. Do what I do #Bubblebaths

@NotMLCarr 2/14/15

Received email this morning that there were donuts on third floor. Came upstairs, were all gone. Thought I was first in the building. Check locker room. @Jared_Sully0 napping on couch. SMH

@NotMLCarr 2/25/15

@Bestbetbass Congrats on surviving another trade deadline. If there’s a zombie apocalypse I know who I’m hanging with. You’re like Mike Myers. Can’t kill you! #StevensJoke

On Page 2, Hack-a-DJ is ruining playoff basketball

What a long, strange trip to the free-throw line for DeAndre Jordan. Again and again.

The Clippers center is now in the NBA record books, though not for a reason he’d ever envision, after taking 28 free-throw attempts in the first half of the Clippers’ playoff game Sunday.

The Houston Rockets kept fouling him intentionally, so Jordan kept going to the line, eventually passing Shaquille O’Neal’s 27 free-throw attempts for the Lakers against Portland in the second half of a 2000 playoff game.

Los Angeles Times – Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan travels through free-throw land to record books

The first half of last night’s Clippers/Rockets playoff tilt was an absolute snooze-fest. I could have attended the last 20 minutes of an open practice if I wanted to see DeAndre Jordan struggle to make free throws. I understand that the hack-a-player strategy is within the rules of the game, and that Jordan needs to improve his free throw shooting if he really wants to stop getting sent to the line, but after watching some really spectacular playoff basketball this weekend, the last thing I, or any fan wanted to see, was the game ruined. Death By Free Throws. The NBA needs to do something to modify the hack-a-player strategy, or I’ll keep doing what I and many other fans did last night. I’ll turn the game off.