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.
See, this is what happens when your favorite team uses an easily recognized font (Futura Condensed) and you’re a font nerd.
Even if the game-winning shot had missed, Terry Rozier would have finished the night with another promising summer league outing behind him. Instead, he caught the ball a few feet behind the arc, hopped into a deep three and sent the Boston Celtics to another win, their third straight, to wrap up an undefeated Utah Jazz summer league.
Rozier steadied the Celtics in all three games, looking very much like someone who has improved thanks to a year of NBA experience. Boston lost a big lead Thursday night against the San Antonio Spurs, but there he was down the stretch, recognizing when he could reach the hoop, knocking down the long jumper in the final moments, preserving his team’s perfect mark with nine points over the final 3:14.
So Terry Rozier had himself a summer league eh? Definitely showed some progress year over year (cut to James Young and sad trombone noise). Go ahead and relive that game winning three pointer:
Terry Rozier #FTW!🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/v9qrItheWL
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) July 8, 2016
Of course, we’ll have to see what happens once the real season rolls around.
Page 2: Where Danny’s dropping hints
“Listen, you have to earn a roster spot,” Ainge said of the shooting guard. “There are some exceptions, like James Young is an exception. He was drafted at 18 years old, and we have to be patient with him, but now it’s time. But competition is a good thing. It brings out the best in these guys.”
James Young is still a very, well, young player, but you have to wonder if he’s a good fit for the Crowder/Thomas ‘chip on the shoulder’ Celtics. Jay King made some long-distance observations about Young’s progress in his summer league recap above, and they paint a picture of a player that might not be moving along fast enough for a team that’s got a ton of players under 25 (seriously: add up their weights, it’s dang near 3,000lbs worth counting this year’s picks).
Other tidbits from that media session:
- Ante Zizic is going to spend the year in Europe, but Yabusele might not (but he probably will)
- The Celtics still want a stronger backup center and are looking for more shooting (which adds even more oomph to Ainge’s comments about Young)
- The team guaranteed Jonas and Amir’s contracts.
Page 3: Where Wyc talks about the Durant pitch
“I don’t feel like losing to the Golden State Warriors, with 73 wins, was a failure,” Grousbeck said. “Look, having just met the guy and really having met him and gotten to know him as a person, he’s a very sincere guy, and he felt that’s the right thing for him to do. He and his dad are very thoughtful people, and I’m not going to say or even think anything bad about it.”
“I’m not going to slam Golden State or the Golden State decision. If you’re going to go to Golden State, then no, we didn’t have a chance. If you’re going to go to Golden State, then nobody had a chance.”
There’s pretty much one aspect of Durant’s decision that I understand, and that’s this: If he was going to leave OKC and say that he was doing so because he wanted the ‘best chance’ to win, the only move that makes sense is Golden State.
Frankly, I don’t put much stock in any talk about growing his game; that’s almost certainly not going to happen in Golden State. If he wanted to grow his game, the real path was east, to Boston. There would be an opportunity to step into an unquestioned leadership role with a young team and, frankly, become a legend.
But winning a championship right out of the gate in Boston would be hard–at least superficially, that’s not going to be an issue in Oakland.
There was also this tidbit:
Grousbeck said that Durant asked some very informed questions, including one to ownership asking if they’d be willing to spend into the luxury tax when it comes time to re-up all of the young players.
This is poetic justice.
A guy who moved a team out of Seattle because they wouldn’t spend money on his team, just lost the best player he’s ever had, in no small part because he wouldn’t spend money on his team.
Finally: It’s a good thing they didn’t retire David Lee’s number
Look at what just arrived in the Celtics team store! @MariaHorford @AnnaHorford pic.twitter.com/Av3FsomBLZ
— Mark Piselli (@MarkPiselli13) July 8, 2016
The rest of the links
Boston Herald: Bulpett: Ainge reflects on Durant chase that came up just short for Celtics | Celtics notebook: Danny Ainge decides to bring Amir Johnson, Jonas Jerebko back | Al Horford sure to make big impact with Celtics
CSNNE: Stars, studs and duds: Rozier comes up big vs. Spurs | Colton Iverson could fill Celtics’ need for ‘a stronger center’
Boston Globe: Danny Ainge: Celtics will continue to pursue free agents, trades
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