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.
For that reason, it makes sense to kick off our prospect profiles with former Duke wing Brandon Ingram, whom the Celtics are scheduled to interview. Ingram will be one of the top two picks on June 25 — likely the No. 1 pick, if pre-draft chatter is any indicator — and the Celtics would need luck (and Danny Ainge to keep his finger off the trade trigger) in order to acquire him. If luck falls into place, however, the Celtics would pick up a player seemingly perfectly suited to today’s game.
At least until the lottery balls determine the Celtics’ fate, we fans can tell ourselves, “if Durant really is out of reach, maybe the Celtics can get Guy Who Has Been Compared to Durant™”–as sort of a consolation prize.
Of course, it’s not all upside w/Ingram (who is, mind you, still only 18, or about nine years younger than Durant), as Westerholm points out:
For all the positives regarding Ingram’s frame — the wide shoulders, the length, the height, the untapped potential — there are still plenty of negatives. He’s so, so thin at 6-foot-9 and less than 200 pounds, most notably in his base, which could prevent him from a variety of useful movements on both ends. He struggles to get off the ground against stronger defenders who can hold him down, and he can be easily moved around in the post since he can’t really anchor himself down.
So, if someone can figure out how to combine Sullinger & Ingram into a single player called, say, Jaredon Sullingram, you’d have a pretty legit low post player, but as it is, wow, that’s small for a guy who will be expected to put in at least some time on the block.
Of course, this is all contingent on Boston moving up in the lottery which hasn’t happened since 1986. When, well……..
Page 2: Where Brandon might even be meeting with the Celtics!!
Just in case they receive some luck in Tuesday night’s NBA Draft lottery, the Boston Celtics have set up a tentative workout with top prospect Brandon Ingram
Adding a further element of schoolgirl giddiness to this whole process was the news that the Ingram might even work out for the Celtics. Maybe. If everything works out just so.
The grumpy part of me wants the lottery to be over with as soon as possible, because this kind of stuff is just silly. However, the more pragmatic part realizes that it’s at least news, and that the month or so between the lottery and the draft is one of those trackless desert wastes of NBA news (for the 26 or so teams out of the playoffs), forcing pseudo ink-stained wretches like yours truly to grasp at anything remotely newsworthy. There’s a tweet of Lucky the Leprechaun mascot making a charitable appearance that I’m saving against a particularly slow day.
Page 3: Where let’s all take a look back at the Nets trade
“Today,” Prokhorov said that night, “the basketball gods smiled on the Nets.”
Adam Himmelsbach with a truly outstanding piece on the way the Nets picks went from being a really solid return to ‘OMG is this even possible?’ Frankly, at the time I thought the Nets would be pretty good, if it weren’t for the fact that they’d hired Jason Kidd.
Finally: Where KG gets us in the feels. Again.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFW5aa1FbBF/
That
Yeah. I was ten years old, and barely a Celtics fan when Boston won the Finals with one of the greatest teams ever assembled. I remember distinctly hearing a sportscaster of some sort talking about how the combination of that team and the Celtics’ lottery pick put them in, potentially, the best position that any team had ever been in.
I remember that picture of Len Bias in that green Celtics hat with the white script. The one that they kept showing after he died.
And you know what? That was the defining moment for me as a Celtics fan. For the next 22 years, that’s what stuck in my head. Not the championships, not even the one that Celtics had earned less than two weeks earlier. I don’t remember game 6. Aside from some vague recollections of game action that might have been anything and a few remarks like the one about having the #2 pick, my earliest clear memory of being a Celtics fan is that picture.
I inherited my Celtics rooting interest. I didn’t pick them like some front-runner. I followed them through the worst 20 year stretch in the franchise’s history, through the death of yet another player, lawsuits, the demolition of the old Garden, missing out on Duncan, Rick Pitino, Paul Pierce getting stabbed, missing out on Durant.
But you know, it’s been pretty good since then.
The rest of the links
CSNNE: Draper: Think Celtics are in ‘no-lose situation’ this offseason | Five reasons why sources believe Simmons will be the No. 1 pick | Thomas’ success has given 5-foot-9 Felder confidence
ESPN Boston: Celtics’ Danny Ainge: ‘I don’t see anything bad’ coming this offseason
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
