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.

Turner admittedly has grown, as well, under Stevens.

[…]

Now comes a pre-free agency waiting period that will do nothing for his patience. Turner admittedly would like to resolve business quickly, once the market opens on July 1.

“Hopefully, it starts July 1. Hopefully, it’s over July 1,” he said.

“I don’t really have much of a feeling (for it),” he said about his first exposure to the free-agent process. “I’m kind of wondering how it’s going to play out, but other than that, it should be cool. It’s going to be way better than two years ago, right? It’s all going to be way better than two years ago. It should be cool. I haven’t really thought about it. I don’t really know what I think about during the day, but it’s not that. It’ll be cool. Once again, I’ll stay out of trouble until then, and try to keep bettering myself and growing.”

Herald – For Evan Turner, it’s Celtics or big payday

We’ve spent time talking about Evan Turner’s future and we know that both Turner and Stevens prefer that the point-forward/budding sixth man stay in green for years to come.

If Turner hopes that decision is made early in the free agency process, however, he’s going to be disappointed. Much will change between now and 11:59pm on June 30th, but one thing is for sure: The Celtics will have their sights set on big ticket free agents — setting up meetings with the Durants and Horfords of the world if they’ll sit down to listen.

Evan Turner returning to the Celtics isn’t likely to happen in the first few days, or maybe even the first week or two of free agency. If Turner wants the process to end quickly, he’ll likely be signing a fat contract with a middling team just looking to hit the salary floor.

Turner will have to weigh more than just money and winning, he’ll have to weigh the Stevens’ effect. How much of his recent success is tied to his coach, and how much of it is finding his niche as a player in the league? Ask Jordan Crawford the same question and he’ll sullenly point to the former.

ET was a pleasant surprise over the past two seasons and it would be great to have him back,  but he’s farther down the priority list than he’d hope and than Stevens wants to admit. I’m guessing we’ve seen the last of him in green.

Last night’s second half a big one for Durant, OKC

Fair to say this is OKC’s biggest 2nd half of the entire KD-Russ era right?

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) May 9, 2016

Simmons followed up his tweet by referencing Lebron’s game five with the Cavs against the Celtics in 2010 and his game four with the Heat against the Spurs in 2014 — both penultimate performances as a member of the Cavs and Heat respectively.

The Spurs were one half away from pushing OKC to the brink last night and with it, likely Kevin Durant’s tenure with the Thunder. Durant and company (ok, mostly Durant) responded by running away from the Spurs in the fourth quarter. Now, the Thunder are one win away from returning home with a chance to upset the Spurs in front of a raucous OKC crowd. Even if the Thunder don’t win the series, they’ll get one last chance to win a game in front of a rabid fan base that loves Durant. A. Sherrod Blakely sounded off last night and claimed that with the way this series has gone, there’s no way Durant leaves Oklahoma City. These next two games are pivotal if you’re a dreaming Celtics fan hoping that Durant will meet with Danny Ainge in a few months: The Thunder need to lose game five and then come back and get beat soundly in game six.

And finally, Cavs sweep again

The Cavs made things interesting in Atlanta yesterday before shutting the door on Atlanta with another barrage of three pointers. The Toronto and Miami series is mildly entertaining, but the winner just becomes shark food for the Cavs in the conference finals. A team with that much talent and shooting in a conference bereft of a legitimate adversary is going to walk right into the finals until another team can procure multiple star players and a supporting cast of shooters. The Celtics are ripe to become that team, but it will involve plenty of Danny Ainge magic this off-season.

Still, the landscape is pretty clear: It’s a one-team conference in the East and a 3-4 team bloodbath in the West. All it takes is one free agent to move across the country and provide Cleveland with a legitimate threat.

The rest of the links: ESPNBoston – Brad Stevens on Avery Bradley: ‘He’s a big part of what we’re doing’  | CSNNE – Danny Ainge: ‘Look forward’ to meeting top prospects at NBA combine