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.

“It was great being able to work with some of the talented players and coaches on the team,”Hayward said on his website. “Coach Krzyzewski and Coach Thibodeau are very detail oriented — very similar to Brad Stevens, my coach at Butler. They make sure you’re focused on everything being sharp and precise. When we practiced, they weren’t necessarily long practices, but it was intense. I like that. When you practice, it should be focused and tough training.”

Hayward Compares Stevens To Krzyzewski, Thibodeau-CSNNE

Since Brad Stevens became head coach of the Boston Celtics last season, he’s gotten mostly positive feedback from fans, media and his players.The Jazz’ Gordon Hayward, who played for Stevens at Butler, is just the latest person to heap praise on the man brought in to hopefully bring the Celtics back to respectability.

The Celtics finished 25-57 under Stevens last season, his first with the C’s and as an NBA head coach. However expectations were low, and many Celts fans may have been happier with more losses to satisfy their dreams of Boston tanking their way to a top 3 pick. But once again, Lady Luck was unkind to Boston on draft lottery night, and the C’s had to “settle” for the 6th pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

So what type of expectations do Celts fans have for Stevens and his squad this year? Will folks be satisfied with and just as easy on Stevens if the Celtics once again are near the bottom of the East? Many believe a coach is only as good as the players he can put out on the floor each night. And even some of the best coaches in the NBA have failed to deliver when faced with a roster low on talent. With a healthy Rajon Rondo, a very promising rookie in Marcus Smart and some tweaks to the roster, we’ll soon see just what the future holds for the success of Stevens as an NBA head coach.

Page 2:  Bass and the Big Show

It’s not too often that you see Brandon Bass looking tiny next to someone else-except when that someone else is WWE’s Big Show. Bass & Big Show posed for a pic before last night’s matches at TD Garden. Hang tight C’s fans-the painfully slow news days are almost over. Media Day is just two weeks from today and training camp follows right afterwards…

The rest of the links:

Globe: Ray Allen:Wanted Man|NBA.com:USA Routs Serbia To Claim World Cup Gold|Morning Shootaround