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.
“He looks like a veteran pro, not a 19-year-old kid, that’s for sure,” said the Red Claws coach, who spends a lot of time around the Celtics to maximize the affiliation between the two teams. “And skill-wise, since we’ve been out here I think he’s shown a great deal of potential. A lot of people are asking how his shot looks, things like that. I think he has great potential as a shooter and he’s explosive to the rim, and he’s improving his finishing. Probably the biggest and most important thing is he picks up things quick and he wants to learn, which is a key for anybody who has to develop.”
“Marcus has been great,” Morrison added, “because he shares his knowledge with Jaylen and says, ‘Hey, in the league this isn’t going to work,’ or, ‘Guys are going to do this when you do this.’ Like I said, (Brown has) been real good to just listen and pick it up but he doesn’t back down either. He’ll try to compete with Marcus and both guys are out there to win, but also out there to help each other which has been great.
Okay, today’s lead item in the dump comes courtesy of the industrious duo of John Karalis and Jay King, and their Locked On podcast.
Jay’s summarized the best stuff about Jaylen and Marcus for the article, including this thoroughly Marcus tidbit:
Marcus isn’t going to give up any easy buckets, even in August
There’s also a section about how much Marcus is working on his shot. Which, as I’ve mentioned before, is great if Marcus is doing things that will improve his shooting. If he’s just spending hours polishing up his bad form, it’s not going to make him a better shooter.
Page 2: That time Al Horford coached Kelly Olynyk
In August 2009, when Kelly Olynyk was just a few weeks from starting his freshman year at Gonzaga University, he took part in the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders camp in Mexico City.
The 7-footer did not know it then, but his coach at the four-day clinic was actually one of his future pro teammates, Al Horford, who was entering his third season with the Atlanta Hawks.
“I don’t even know if [Horford] knows that,” Olynyk said. “I’ve looked up to him for a long time after that. He’s just been a great role model for the game of basketball, and playing for his country and doing all that. I think he should be a great fit in this city.”
Adam Himmelsbach with a deep dive into the unexpected Olynyk and Horford mutual fan club. Chris Forsberg sent out a poll asking us bloggers who we thought would get paired with Horford in the starting lineup, offering his vote in favor of Olynyk. It’s an intriguing combo, but one without a true center. And, maybe I’m being old fashioned, but I still think you need at least a serviceable center in your starting lineup to win it all–maybe you don’t need a hall-of-famer, the way you did from, oh geez, the ’50s to the 90s? But I don’t think you can get where you want to go running two power forwards at the same time, most of the time.
Page 3: Where Kelly Olynyk’s not worried about his next contract
“I’m not really worried about that,” Olynyk said Wednesday at the Massachusetts State House, where the Celtics held an event to honor “Heroes Among Us” from the past season. “If they want to do it, they do. If not, you can’t worry about things you can’t control. That’s completely up to them, so we’ll see what happens.”
…
That has nothing to do with how the front office views Olynyk, but everything to do with the desire to clear as much cap space as possible and chase top free agents. If the Celtics decline to extend the big man, he will have a cap hold of about $4.28 million next summer. If they reach an extension with Olynyk, instead, his 2017-18 salary would go on the cap. Considering all the money flying around, the latter number would likely be substantially greater than $4.28 million — and every dollar above that value would cut into Boston’s cap space.
Kelly with the right attitude, and Jay King with an explanation of what’s at play.
Boston can exceed the cap in order to sign Kelly Olynyk after they sign a player from another team. If they sign Kelly Olynyk to an extension, they can’t exceed the cap to sign a player from another team. You can exceed the cap to re-sign your own guys (most of the time, that is).
The rest of the links:
CSNNE: The ’86 Celtics Interviews: Mike Gorman
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