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.

The Boston Celtics play just two games over the next nine days, an impossibly quiet stretch at a time of year when teams are typically struggling to catch their breath. In fact, Boston is at the tail end of a home-heavy run in which seven of eight games will be played at TD Garden, which means that the Celtics will have slept in their own beds 20 out of a possible 21 nights from Feb. 22 through March 13.

That’s quite the luxury for an NBA team and, when you consider the week-long respite the team enjoyed in mid-February for the All-Star break, it’s been a very forgiving calendar month for the Celtics, who are 6-3 in that span.

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Maybe the biggest benefit from the upcoming downtime could be an ability to get third-year big man Kelly Olynyk some activity as he works his way back from a shoulder injury that has sidelined him since Feb. 10. Stevens said last week that Olynyk would be reevaluated Monday and hinted that, with sufficient progress, Olynyk might soon be able to ramp up his basketball activities (though he offered no timetable for that).

ESPN Boston – Boston’s bench held fort, but Kelly Olynyk’s return will help Celtics

John referenced yesterday that from a quality of opponent standpoint, the Celtics’ upcoming schedule features a slew of formidable opponents — all playoff teams who could have a huge say in whether or not the Cs are able to finish with the conference’s third best record.

Fortunately, the Cs can enter into this challenging part of the schedule with the benefit of added practice time for the guys on the court, and recuperation time for Kelly Olynyk, whose status should become far more clear by this afternoon.

By the end of Friday night, March 17th, I’d take a 3-2 record against the Grizzlies, Rockets, Pacers, Thunder and Raptors and a healthy Kelly Olynyk. The Cs go on what should be a season-shaping five game, western conference road swing to end March and begin April and hopefully KO is rust-free by the time Boston boards its charter for that trip.

On page 2, let’s pause and take a moment to salute Danny the GM

But by the start of 2016 training camp the whole free agent field just might have been overpaid.

Ainge professes not to know how outrageous the spending could become.

“All I know is that we’ll prepare ourselves for who will be here,” he said. “Any new salaries are going to go way up — higher than it’s ever been. I wouldn’t say that people are going to get over-paid, but a lot of money is going to be circulating.”

Those in the most curious positions will be players who signed long-term deals over the last two or three years. The Celtics have three. Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder and Avery Bradley will all be underpaid in light of the new guidelines — Thomas ($12.8 million) and Bradley ($17 million) with two years left after this season; and Crowder with four ($28 million).

All three are 27 years old, which is a good thing, because all three will have to wait until their next respective deals to reap in the league’s new riches.

Boston Herald – Kevin Durant tops list for free agent fortuity 

As the season chugs on towards the spring, Kevin Durant’s impending free agency as a major talking point is beginning to pick up a bit more steam. Local talk radio shows are throwing out hypotheticals in which Durant is seriously considering signing with the Celtics and joining forces with Brad, Danny and the rest of the green in a quest for banner 18.

There’s a better chance that the Celtics video guys play Gino in the third quarter than there is of Durant signing here.

But buried in Mark Murphy’s piece on Durant is just how shrewdly Danny Ainge managed the Celtics’ cap as the money is set to begin flying around this summer. How much would IT, Crowder and AB demand in an off-season like this one upcoming? Thomas could argue for close to the max, Crowder might be worth 15 million a year and Bradley could argue for a similar deal. There were rumblings earlier this off-season that Bradley wasn’t happy with his current contract and whether or not that was true, all three of these guys are going to be feeling at least some bit of envy when lesser players are scooping up more money this July.

Something roster and maybe fortune-altering is going to happen for the Celtics this summer and they may have to overpay in order to make that happen. But one thing for certain is that three important pieces are locked up at an absolute bargain and it’s some of Danny Ainge’s most impressive work in his time at the helm of the Cs front office.

And finally, great win, Phoenix!

Devin Booker had 27 points and nine assists, Alex Len added 19 points and 16 rebounds, and the Suns defeated Memphis 109-100 on Sunday.

The win was the second straight for Phoenix, but only the third in the last 18. Two of those victories were against Memphis.

ESPN – Suns vs. Grizzlies

The Phoenix Suns have won two games in a row. They are one game ahead of the Brooklyn Nets in the futility rankings for the third best odds at Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram in the draft. Devin Booker and Alex Len — keep doing your thing!

Even more surprising were the Lakers yesterday — thoroughly dominating the Warriors at Staples Center. The Lakers, though, with only 13 wins are acutely aware of how too many wins will lead to the sacrifice of their first rounder to Philly. If you’re like me, then you’ll continue to follow this season-within-the-season as the tanking and bad basketball hits the home-stretch.

The rest of the links: Mass Live – Jae Crowder: Boston Celtics closing gap on Cleveland Cavaliers but still have a ‘long ways to go’