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.
“When I got the call from my athletic director that The Undefeated wanted to talk to me about Len Bias, the first thing I said to him was: ‘It must be that time of the year.’ I’ve long accepted that this is how it’s going to be forever. This annual connection with Lenny is going to stay with me until I go to my grave.
“Thirty years. It’s really incredible that 30 years have passed since Lenny died, because the memories are so fresh. I only knew Lenny for just over three years, but the way we connected and the lifelong bond that grew from that short period of time makes it seem like I’ve known him my entire life.
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“Lenny parked his car, a blue Nissan 300ZX, right next to the dorm. And, for a couple of weeks after he died, I walked by the car every single day.
“The news of a cocaine overdose turned the case into criminal investigation. And police were going through the car and the dorm. Imagine you’re a kid in college, your good friend has died and you’re forced to walk back to the dorm where it happened, and past that car that he drove — every day. That really messed with my mind.
“And almost immediately, it went from our friend dying to survival of the fittest.
I mentioned this about a month ago, Len Bias’ death is essentially my first memory as a Celtics fan. Unlike Mike Dynon, who was around for the Russell years, or some of the millennials that contribute, who picked up the C’s pretty much when Paul Pierce came on, and suffered through some relatively mediocre years, some of my earliest Celtics memories are basically Len Bias dying, Larry Bird having to lay on the sidelines because his back was so messed up, the Celtics suing Brian Shaw, Reggie Lewis dying and then finding out that Rick Pitino was incredibly immature and therefore incapable of coaching grownups.
Of course, I don’t want to go all Bill Simmons and go on and on about how I personally was affected by something. Especially something that had a far more profound impact on Bias’ friends and family.
Do yourself a favor and read that article–even if you don’t want to or think you already know everything you need to know about Bias. It carries a byline, but all Jerry Bembry did was post a bit of a preamble and then get out of the way, letting Keith Gatlin tell the rest of the story in his own words.
Page 2: Where Colton Iverson’s following in his dad’s footsteps
There’s a neat story about Colton Iverson’s father, Chuck, who was drafted by two professional basketball teams but never played for either one. He says the ABA’s Memphis Tams were willing to offer him a contract, but told him the deal would not stand if he decided to try out for the Seattle Supersonics. The Supersonics had selected him in the fifth round of the 1973 NBA Draft, and they featured a coach by the name of Bill Russell.
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Iverson did not know he had been chosen in one of them until his brother informed him. Still, Iverson wanted to continue playing basketball and determine if he could make it in the NBA. And Bill Russell was his hero.
“I’d rather get cut by Bill Russell,” the current Mount Marty College athletic director says now, “than make it in Memphis.”
Iverson was indeed cut by Bill Russell, but not before rubbing toes with the legend. The tryout featured so much conditioning work that, more than 40 years later, Iverson can still remember how his legs felt after doing jumping jacks on his toes for 15 consecutive minutes.
Chuck and Colton Iverson are from my home state, South Dakota, and this article caught my eye for that reason, but it’s worth checking out for reasons wholly unrelated to Chuck’s status as a SD basketball legend: Despite all the talk of higher salaries and an exploding salary cap, Colton would likely have to take a pay cut to come over to the NBA at this point in time:
According to Iverson’s agent, Adam Pensack, other NBA teams have inquired about the center’s availability, but a trade would be needed to send Iverson elsewhere. If he does get a shot, he would likely need to accept a pay cut from the money he would make overseas.
“That’s what it’s starting to sound like, so that kind of hurts,” Iverson said recently. “But you can’t put a price tag on playing in the NBA. That’s just been my dream since I can remember. So I really hope there’s an opportunity, and if that opportunity comes I’m going to for sure make the most of it. And I’m going to prove to them that I deserve to be there. I’m hoping that will be the next step, but if not there will be very lucrative offers overseas also.
Page 3: Where the Celtics need a scorer and a rim protector and the sky is blue and water is wet.
We’ve been saying for a while that the greater imperative is a legitimate and consistent scorer — a guy who walks up to the stat table before tipoff and says, “Put me down for the usual 20, and we’ll see what we can do beyond that.”
Such players are obviously extremely rare, which is why the Celtics will go to great lengths on the slim chance of successfully recruiting Kevin Durant. And it’s why they’re prepared to put together a strong trade package for Jimmy Butler. And don’t think Kevin Love would be out of their realm.
Of those who figure to be available to them in the draft (this assumes Brandon Ingram and Ben Simmons are gone), Jamal Murray may be the best bet to fit that bill, but the Celts would rather bring in a veteran who doesn’t need an NBA orientation.
Less than a week to go and we’ll be able to stop speculating and start judging!! I’m of two different minds on this. On the one hand, it would be nice for the Celtics to get an established player either through a trade or through free agency, but if, say, Cleveland wants all of Boston’s first rounders and a rotation player for Kevin Love, that’s a deal that Danny is just not going to make. Yet, it would be interesting to see the Celtics build through the draft, assembling a tight core of players Spurs-style, that basically grow up with the Celtics. The bottom line is that the Celtics are in a position to do just about anything this year and next. They have up to $54M in cap space this summer, plenty of rotation players, and a ton of draft picks.
Page 3: Where Jimmy Butler thought he’d be a Celtic
In the 2011 NBA Draft, the Boston Celtics picked MarShon Brooks, and then quickly traded him to the Nets for a pick and JaJuan Johnson.
Jimmy Butler, who went 30th-overall to the Bulls, didn’t think that’s how it would go for the Celtics.
“What’s crazy is I thought I was going to end up with y’all [the Celtics],” Butler said on Wednesday’s “The Bill Simmons Podcast.” “Doc [Rivers] being from Marquette [in college], I was — I’m ready. But I’m not mad. I went 30th to Chicago, and it’s a good place for me right now.”
Interested in arguing about Ainge’s track record in the draft? Sure you are. Skip immediately to the comments section and have at it. At some point in time, I’m going to do a detailed analysis of the last eight years of drafts, and see if any other team has consistently picked players that the Celtics have missed on. I don’t think it’s happened.
Finally: Stephen A. Smith has some advice for Ayesha Curry
You need to watch yourself because it may put your husband in a compromising position
If you’re looking for creepy comments about women’s appearances and condescending/vaguely threatening advice about how women should act, check out the latest from First Take!
The extent to which ESPN uses Stephen A outside of First Take is proof that they either have no idea how poorly he comes across or they just don’t care.
The rest of the links:
ESPN Boston: Memo: NBA salary cap now projected to hit $94M
CSNNE: Will Celtics target Barnes or Love after poor NBA Finals?
Boston Globe: Scouting the top prospects in the NBA draft
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