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.

Johnson’s contract status certainly has him on the outside looking-in, there are plenty of reasons the 6-foot-6 swingman’s camp is “cautiously optimistic” about his chances of sticking with the Green team.

“So far, everything has been positive,” his agent Marc Cornstein, told CSNNE.com in a phone interview on Tuesday. “We’re well aware of the roster additions. He has a great relationship with the Celtics organization and the coaching staff and as I said, everything we have heard thus far as been positive so we’re cautiously optimistic about his future with the Celtics.”

CSNNE – Johnson, agent ‘caustiously optimistic’ on C’s future 

Not entirely sure what “so far everything’s been positive” means. Johnson’s been a great hustler and a feel-good story so far, but he also had a pretty ‘meh’ summer league. That said, I’d still like to keep him on the roster for at least another season to see what he can manifest now that he’s got a season under his belt. With 18 guys, on the roster however, it’s tough to see how he’s going to fit in.

We heard yesterday that Ainge has ‘tried like Hell’ to move Brandon Bass. If he’s moved for a non-guaranteed deal, or if a bigger deal has us taking in less players than we send out — then a spot for Johnson could open up. For example, we could package two guaranteed deals (Bass, Green) for one, and then cut Babb and Bogans. Unfortunately, with the way this summer’s gone, I don’t see a ton of options for slimming the roster. Even if we cut Babb, Ainge may find a better option for the Bogans contract; he could send it out to a team looking for cap space, maybe packaging him with a pick, and receiving a young player in return.

Of course there’s likely a reason Johnson’s agent is cautiously optomistic. Even Johnson himself were to be traded as a non-guaranteed contract, there’s a chance he could land on a team looking to give him a shot.

Page 2: Where the C’s have had the 4th best offseason?

Ainge couldn’t engage the Wolves in Kevin Love talk, but he managed to add numerous assets without dealing Rajon Rondo. Yet. With Smart the obvious heir apparent for Boston at the point, Ainge can now take his time and make the best deal for Rondo he can. The Celtics will likely have to move one of their surplus of guards before the season starts, but they’ll be dealing from a position of strength. Bradley may have been a little overpaid considering the team’s standing, but he’s a terrific defender and certainly worth retaining. Most important to Boston’s future, the Cs got another future first in the three-team deal that brought Thornton from Brooklyn; Boston has at least seven first-round picks outright in the next four years. Combined with the significant cap room that’s just around the corner, Boston could rebuild in a hurry — especially with the potential of a Smart-Young backcourt developing in the coming years.

NBA.com – In a summer full of change, Cavs rank as most improved

OK, I might be a day late on this one, but I was curious what other people thought. The article above was written by David Aldridge, where he ranks Boston as having the fourth best offseason so far — behind Cleveland, Chicago, and Charlotte. Not that I have anything to complain about, Ainge has managed to make the most of what he’s dealt; picking Marcus Smart, turning an expiring trade exception into a pick and a young center, etc. But I still struggle to see how Aldridge views our summer better than some of the other teams.

Take Dallas for example. They’re still revolving around Dirk, and they managed to surround him with his old frontcourt partner in Tyson Chandler, plus Chandler Parsons , albeit an expensive addition. Not to mention they managed to retain depth by adding a handful of talented veterans (Jameer, Ray Felton, Richard Jefferson, Devin Harris) to make a push in the west.

With the dust mostly settled, Even Miami’s  had a decent summer (gag). They replaced LeBron with a solid lockdown competitor in Loul Deng, retained their other two stars, and signed the NCAA championship’s MVP. Not bad considering the East is still up for grabs.

Of course a team’s summer can either be viewed relative to their own situation or to their relevancy within the League as a whole. Either way, I’m surprised to have seen the C’s so high up. What do you guys think?

And Finally, Spurs still doing Spur things — name Becky Hammon first full-time, paid assistant coach.

The San Antonio Spurs hired Hammon as an assistant coach on Tuesday, making her the first full-time, paid female assistant on an NBA coaching staff.

When Hammon retires from her 16-year WNBA career at the end of the San Antonio Stars’ season, she will immediately move to the staff of the defending NBA champions, working with the revered Gregg Popovich on scouting, game-planning and the day-to-day grind of practice like no woman has ever done before.

“Nothing in my life has really ever been easy. I’ve always been someone who did it uphill,” Hammon said. “I’m up for challenges. I’m up for being outside the box, making tough decisions and challenges. … And I’m a little bit of an adrenaline junkie. Throw those all in there and this was the perfect challenge and opportunity.

ESPN – Becky Hammon hired by San Antonio Spurs

Again, San Antonio doing something equally awesome and unsurprising.

The Spurs basketball operations are the most progressive in the league. They don’t talk about doing stuff, they just do it.

— Paul Flannery (@Pflanns) August 5, 2014

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The Rest of the Links:

CSNNE – Celtics to open, close exhibition season at TD Garden | Celtics rookies team up at NBA’s rookie photo shoot

Grantland – The NBA’s Bigs Problem | B.S. Report: Brian Windhorst

HoopsHype – Is Eric Bledsose a No. 1 guy?