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.

The Celtics are a roster of evenly talented players, but five of those players will see little action in Wednesday night’s opener against the Brooklyn Nets. Stevens will go with a 10-man rotation, having to massage a few egos and stress that however minutes are distributed, it will be for the good of the team, and that is not always an easy message to convey.

But Stevens’s honesty with his players has ensured that while every player won’t be happy, there won’t be the dissension there was early last season when Gerald Wallace expressed dissatisfaction with his bench role and Keith Bogans left the team because he was disgruntled with his minutes.

It took weeks for the team to trust Stevens’s methods, but the fact the Celtics played so hard throughout the season was a testament to the coach’s upfront approach. His style has drawn raves from fellow coaches, who believe Stevens officially has assumed control of the organization after nine years of Doc Rivers’s influence.

Globe: Coach Stevens’ comfort level has increased

Stevens also possesses that vital second step. He has mostly sold his ideas to a group known for its cynicism — modern professional athletes. Well-traveled veterans like Kris Humphries, Jerryd Bayless and Gerald Wallace all bought in last season. Keith Bogans and Courtney Lee didn’t and were gone by February (Bogans physically if not monetarily).

So Stevens also has that third step — clout.

“He told us the first day of practice that we’re going to work efficiently, we’re not going to waste our time,” Turner said. “We’re not going to do things that don’t matter. I’m not going to have you out on the floor for 31⁄2 hours. That’s his philosophy. He preaches to do what you do, and let’s work together at it. He really believes in building a game plan and seeing it through.”

Herald:  Brad Stevens wins ’em over

This is a good time to remind people that a number of local media trolls (you know who the regulars are) immediately speculated that Brad Stevens was a temporary placeholder until a “real” NBA coach got to Boston.

Of course today’s climate allows for people to be dismissive assholes on TV and the radio without repercussion, so those idiots never really get called out for things like that.

All Stevens has done in really a little more than a year as head coach is get almost all of his players fully on board with the plan.  And those who didn’t get on board were quickly dealt with. Bogans was sent home, and Wallace was, I presume, beaten about the face, neck, and chest with a sack of door knobs until he became the docile, accepting-of-his-limited-role player that he is today.

I don’t want to gush as I tend to do with Stevens, but I will share what, to me, is the money quote… which in this case related to Brandon Bass but in actuality can apply to anyone anywhere in anything:

“I do think guys get pigeonholed in this league,” Stevens said. “Probably in any walk of life, people say what you can’t do, and they harp on it until it feels like a reality, and it feels more overwhelming than what you can do. I do choose to look at the positive side of it and say they’re in the league for a reason. What can we do with that? It’s OK to change your lens and look at something and figure out if you can’t see it another way. It may not be. But at the same time, you don’t always have to look at it the same way everyone else does.”

THIS is why I’m thrilled that Doc decided it was time to go.  THIS is why I’m thrilled with this guy as the coach.  And THIS is why he gets along so great with all of the players.

In a world where everyone is so fixated on what guys can’t do, he’ll look at what they can do, and see how it fits.  At the same time, he’ll shine a new light on the situation somehow just to make sure no one is missing anything, and then they all go from there.

Who wouldn’t want to work for this guy?

Related links:  MassLive:  Stevens now has better idea of lineup, rotation  |  NESN:  Stevens: “staying in the moment” key during C’s brutal stretch

Page 2:  Imagine you’re at the Y and Larry Bird walks into the gym….

“It was President’s Day, and there weren’t many people working,” she recalled. “I worked in the athletic office, and I was the only one there.”

On the line was Jim Paxon, who’d spent nine seasons playing for the Blazers before being traded to the Boston Celtics in 1988. While in Portland, Weber said, he had an athletic membership at MAC.

“He introduced himself and asked if the Celtics could use the gym,” Weber said. “He said they were scheduled to play a game against the Blazers, but their plane had been delayed and they needed a place to work out. ”

[…]  three members were shooting baskets in the gym when the team arrived. The Celtics invited them to join in.

“Those guys were ecstatic,” Weber said. “How often do regular basketball players get to play with an NBA team?”

Oregon Live: The day the Boston Celtics scrimmaged at the Multnomah Athletic Club

I doubt anything like this will ever happen again.  Imagine just being at the Y and some NBA team comes rolling in to work out, and they don’t even kick you out?  The picture in that link is amazing too.  Just some guys and the ’88 Celtics.

And Finally…

The Lakers lost more than their season opener at Staples Center on Tuesday night, as rookie power forward suffered a fractured right tibia in the fourth quarter.

Randle was fitted with an air cast and was wheeled off the court on a stretcher and was later transported to a local hospital. The team announced he could undergo surgery Wednesday, but a timetable for his return was no immediately known.

LA Times

Lots of guys breaking things early this season.  It’s kind of ridiculous.  Video, if you want such things, is here… I’m told it’s not gruesome, but I don’t care to watch to confirm.

Related links:  CSNNE:  Randle breaks leg in Lakers debut

The rest of the links:

Herald:  They may not win enough, but the Celtics will be entertaining to watch  |  Pace & Space: 5 key issues to watch this season  |  Old friend Garnett to turn 20 in opener  |  Globe:  Rondo will be a game-day decision  |  CSNNE:  2014 CSN NBA Survey (Tommy’s answer for number of games the Celtics will win is worth the click)  |  Blakely’s season preview  |  Can Sullinger be a cornerstone player  |  Rondo still coy about playing tonight  |  ESPN Boston:  Don’t sleep on Rondo  |  Rondo a “nap-time” decision vs. Nets  |  WEEI:  Marcus Smart could be so much better if he just stops taking so many 3-pointers  |  Asset management:  Vitor Favorani’s future in Boston  |  Bass’ future  |  MassLive:  Rondo calls Garnett ” a great inspiration”  |  Stevens pays high complement to “energy raiser” Ronald Nored, compares him to Smart  |  NESN:  Season Preview: Rondo questions add intrigue to Opener   |  Rondo: Garnett could play another 2 or 3 years