Your Morning Dump… Where Danny’s expectations are as high as ours

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 Ainge acknowledged the obvious Wednesday in his first full press conference since the end of the Celtics’ season.

The franchise has never before in the salary cap era had the opportunities it will this summer. The president of basketball operations cautioned that there are no guarantees with that, but he didn’t downplay the situation.

“We look forward to every offseason,” Ainge said. “This offseason is bigger.

“My expectations are high this offseason, and yet I also know that it takes good fortune. We need the [draft lottery] ping-pong balls to bounce our way to give us the best opportunity, whether we use that pick or whether we trade that pick. And in free agency, we have opportunities, and that’s all we have. We have no guarantees of great things happening. We just have a lot of hope. And so we have a lot of work ahead of us, and we have to have plan A through Z. Usually it’s more A through G, but we have A through Z this year to have an opportunity to upgrade our team.”

Herald – Expectations, urgency figure in Ainge’s Celtics plans

It seems like an eternity since Ainge traded Pierce and Garnett to Brooklyn for the draft pick haul. Finally, now that the Nets have had a terrifically terrible season, the rebuild plan is coming to fruition. Danny fed the media a bunch of non-answers (he’s sort of like Bill Belichick that way, but smiling instead of scowling), but it’s obvious that he’s itching to move forward toward becoming a contender.

Everything hinges on the lottery result. If that first domino falls the Celtics’ way, it could trigger a cascade of opportunities and deals. The waiting is almost over.

On Page 2: Injuries were worse than we knew

“Kelly is still deciding what to do with our medical staff, with the opinions he’s received,” said Danny Ainge, Boston’s president of basketball operation. We should know in the next week or so. Surgery is an option; it is being discussed. But he’ll make that decision soon.”

The 7-foot Olynyk initially suffered a right shoulder injury on Feb. 10 against the Los Angeles Clippers in what was the last game before the all-star break.

Olynyk remained limited due to the injury which led to him missing 12 regular season games. He re-aggravated the injury in Game 1 of their first round series against the Atlanta Hawks.

CSNNE – Olynyk Still Mulling Over Options Regarding Shoulder

This is the first time I heard anything about KO possibly needed surgery. That explains his ineffectiveness in the playoffs. If he does need an operation, let’s hope he gets it sooner than later to speed up the recovery timeframe.

Danny also revealed that Jae Crowder had a bone bruise in his foot and Isaiah Thomas had a wrist injury. The former was never reported, the latter was suspected but not talked about much. These ailments, combined with Avery Bradley’s hamstring pull, really hurt Boston’s chances against Atlanta – even more than we realized.

Related: ESPN Boston – Surgery an option for Kelly Olynyk; Isaiah Thomas the Leprechaun

On Page 3: Shoutout to the fans

The Celtics tweeted this message and pretty cool video to the fans yesterday. Congrats to Celtics Nation for being there all season.

#GreenRunsDeep ☘https://t.co/ii8iTXvRbA

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 4, 2016

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsAnd, finally: Chris Bosh makes the correct decision

Where the stories of Bosh and Lewis dovetail is in their desire to buck team doctors and seek out second opinions—or, more accurately, opinions that are more in line with their own outlooks. Over the years, team doctors have become increasingly cautious when it comes to ailments that fall outside the realm of separated shoulders and hyperextended knees, and Reggie Lewis is one reason why. […]
Lewis remains the ultimate red flag for NBA teams, a tragedy that stemmed from the combination of an athlete who wanted to get back to his sport and a doctor who offered an overly rosy picture of his ability to do so.

Sporting News – Chris Bosh’s battle with Heat requires dose of perspective, in Reggie Lewis

Yesterday, the Miami Heat announced Chris Bosh would not play again this season. That’s a wise decision. Previously, Bosh had been pressuring the Heat to activate him, despite medical advice to the contrary. That immediately made me think of Reggie Lewis, and anyone who was a Celtics fan in the early ‘90s probably did the same.

Reggie’s collapse during a playoff game and subsequent death during the summer was a horrifying occurrence, even worse than Len Bias dying two days after being drafted. It shattered the franchise both on and off the court, but even that was less important than the fact that a good, caring husband and father was gone so tragically and so young. No game result, regardless of how disappointing, will ever be more devastating.

If Chris Bosh never plays again but lives out his life in relative good health, that’s far better than him taking a chance on being the next Reggie Lewis.

The Rest of the Links:

CSNNE – Ainge: Isaiah Thomas Is ‘Our Leprechaun’

CBS Boston – Luck At The Lottery? Ainge Jokes That Isaiah Thomas Is Celtics’ Leprechaun

MassLive – 2016 NBA Draft workouts: Boston Celtics’ Danny Ainge provides Jameel Warney with shooting advice

WEEI – Northeastern’s Quincy Ford On His Workout With Celtics: ‘They Play Hard Together All The Time’

CSNNE – Celtics Like Butler, But Bulls Not Making Him Easy To Acquire

Wall Street Journal – Why NBA Players Lie About Their Height

Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!