Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline.|
Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

Per source, the #Lakers would pass on Lonzo Ball if #nbadraft was today. Team isn't convinced he's a star and remains concerned about LaVar.

— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) June 3, 2017

Per source, re Lonzo Ball: "It's not even close right now. Ball won't be a Laker unless they really start 2 buy into him as a star." #lakers

— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) June 3, 2017

With Celtics news a little lacking at the moment, we turn to our NBA rival Lakers, who serve as a backdrop to a bit of karma that might be developing.

For the longest time, the feeling was this draft was a choice between Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball. But lately, the gap between Fultz and Ball has grown with many people now feeling Fultz is the obvious top pick and then it gets a bit hazy. The Lakers have apparently fallen into that camp.

However they feel about their roster (do they pick a PG and slide D’Angelo Russell over to the 2? Take a wing and play him along side Brandon Ingram?), there is one underlying factor playing a role in this report…

I think we are naive if we believe LaVar Ball factor doesn't have an impact on a team drafting Lonzo, even though he's a good kid. #lakers

— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) June 3, 2017

Wouldn’t be a shame (please turn your sarcasm meters up to max levels) if LaVar Ball’s antics cost his son a chance to play for his favorite team?

I’ve said this before so I won’t go too deep into it but at some point Ball crossed over from amusing to annoying. He’s the classic dad living his unrequited NBA dream through his son. LaVar is the one doing all the press. LaVar is the one on social media. LaVar is in everyone’s face and crossing lines and becoming a concern for teams… especially the Lakers.

If it comes down to a tie between Ball and De’Aaron Fox, won’t the Lakers at least have the discussion about whether they want LaVar in the front row and on the radio in Los Angeles causing problems and being a distraction? You think Luke Walton wants to hear and read about what LaVar said about not playing his son enough, or the right way, or in the right circumstances?

Personally, I’m torn. Do I want the Lakers to take Lonzo Ball and potentially have their young core ripped apart by constant bombardment from LaVar? Or do I want the Lakers to pass just to see the look on LaVar’s face when he realizes that his dream right there and he blew it?

Tough choice.

Related links: CSNNE: Colangelo: LaVar Ball would make drafting Lonzo Ball ‘challenging’

Page 2: Are analytics costing minority candidates NBA jobs?

Privately, many aspiring African-American coaches and GMs believe they are being tabbed as not being schooled in basketball analytics, so they are being passed over for opportunities. Many did not want to speak on the record for fear of jeopardizing their chances for an employment opportunity. The league has taken a dramatic turn over the past decade toward more analytical thinking. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has filled his staff with analytical thinkers, including assistant GM Michael Zarren, who is considered one of the league’s bright minds. But some former players privately believe their basketball acumen from playing is being overlooked because they are not considered analytics freaks.

“That may be part of the problem,” Silver said. “Without weighing in on the balance between real-life basketball experience and analytics, I think these things are a bit cyclical. But there’s a trend right now toward the analytics folks and I think that’s one of the reasons I should have mentioned that in terms of a league training program, to make sure former players or others who are coming up through the basketball line also feel they have that competency in analytics.

“I think ultimately where it will pan out is I think you need both. As I watched in the league it’s gone to all basketball experience and no analytics, and then you move to probably too much analytics, and right now as I look in the league we’re still striving to find that right balance. I think the way we can help ensure that those candidates get a fair hearing, those candidates who aren’t steeped, who didn’t go to MIT, is to ensure they have the type of analytics training that is necessary.”

Globe: Is NBA’s trend toward analytics hurting some minority job candidates?

Just mentioning the word “analytics” drives some people nuts. We see what we see on the court and that should be enough, right?

Not necessarily. There is merit to big data showing us trends in both players and teams. There is something very valuable in being able to pick up nuance in the game that our eyes are slow to recognize. The value in analytics is that they are cold and unemotional. They don’t get swayed by fandom. If your favorite player has a flaw in his game, analytics will find it and throw it in your face.

But the numbers also lack nuance themselves. They don’t take personnel or coaching issues into account. We need our eyes to look at what a player is doing and to say “hey, maybe if he was used THIS way, he’d be better.” That’s where guys with in-game experience as players have great value. And since the league is mostly African American, when a player wants to ascend to the front office, the league will face a race issue.

The key here, though, is for all parties involved to recognize the merits of the other side (apply that sentence to most arguments if you want). Former players can’t go into meetings like Charles Barkley and blast analytics as the work of nerds who could never play.  Sure, some of the stat-heads out there take the numbers too far but we’re still early in this revolution. The pendulum is only just starting to swing back.

And the number-crunchers can’t be dismissive of the eye-test or alternate theories. I still say Sam Hinke went too far in Philly because he overdid the “if you’re not the best, be the worst” approach. There is merit to the side that says you have to start finding ways to win so you don’t lose your team. Human beings can only take so much losing before it affects them negatively for the long-term.

Either way, the NBA should find a way to make sure former players have opportunities to stay with teams in a front-office capacity. There are high-quality basketball minds in the league and they need to be kept in the NBA to help the league improve. Their service to the game shouldn’t end just because their bodies can’t handle playing anymore.

The rest of the links:

Globe: The league has a lot of catching up to do on the Warriors  |  Warriors built something special from the top down

Herald: Bulpett: Doc Rivers wanted to be his own bulider, but happily uses some of Danny Ainge’s tools