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 Day 5 of our Celtics Summer Forecast series, we asked our blogger panel: Will Thomas be a long-term starter for Boston during the 2015-16 season?

The answer was an emphatic “No.” All but one contributor our 14-member panel suggested that Thomas would not elevate to the starting lineup — at least more than just an occasional spot start — this season.

ESPN Boston: Celtics Summer Forecast: IT Department

We’ve tackled this debate many times here on the site and we’re all pretty unanimous in our opinion. This is something that works for the Celtics and Danny Ainge has already expressed a pretty major concern with Thomas as a starter

“Right now for our team, I think Isaiah is more suited for a bench role,” Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said Thursday. “But ultimately, that’s (head coach) Brad (Stevens’ decision). Isaiah expends a ton of energy to score. At his size, I’m not sure the average fan can recognize how hard it is for him to create offense and how hard he has to work. Anybody who watched the Cleveland (Cavaliers playoff) series could see that. You need guys to play offense and defense, and at his size, defense is sometimes a challenge and puts our team where we have to cover up for some of his mistakes.”

Hard to argue with that, and the rest of the Red’s Army crew who took part in the panel agreed:

Ben Mark, Red’s Army (No)

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The Celtics flourished when Thomas arrived last February in large part because of the way he galvanized the second unit. His presence on the floor elevated other bench players (Jonas Jerebko, Jae Crowder). He’ll still get starter minutes. The only concern will be keeping Thomas happy in his sixth man role.

Jay Ouellette, Red’s Army (No)

Thomas won’t be a starter but he should be. He’s the best player, but the guy the Celts are hoping to be their next franchise player is also a PG (Smart), so I doubt Thomas starts this season.

Mike Dynon, Red’s Army (No)

IT deserves to start and wants to start, too. But Thomas clearly provides a spark as a super sub, and in the fourth quarter, it no longer matters which five were on the court for tipoff. The sixth man role helps Thomas stand out from the crowd, and — with Boston’s tradition of Ramsey, Havlicek, McHale and Walton — he should embrace coming off the bench.

Only Jeff Clark from Celtics Blog disagreed with the rest of the group. You can head on over to ESPN Boston to read the rest of the responses and let us know what you think in the comments.

Page 2: Shaq says the NBA is super soft

It was actually kind of soft when I played, too. Before I played, that was the real NBA, and I’m sure the guys that played before me would say that’s the real NBA. But before I came in, with Mike playing against Detroit and the Bad Boys – that was the real NBA. I kind of played in the soft era, also. And then of course, with me being dominant, everybody crying about the rules, that just made it more so. But now it’s very soft.

Wall Street Journal.. via Pro Basketball Talk

I’ve long lamented the loss of some of the NBA’s tougher elements. Specifically, I long for the days of the hard foul… a policing element of the game lost when guys took it as a sign of disrespect and starting fighting every time it happened.

Today, the “softness” comes mainly in the form of flopping, and superstars like Chris Paul and LeBron James going out of their way to grimace and groan at contact rather absorb it and move on. It’s giving rise to a generation who sees that as a legitimate form of basketball… I’m looking at you, Marcus Smart.

The thing that drives me the most insane is the flailing from 3 when a defender is close hoping to draw 3 free throws rather than just focusing on the shot itself. That’s going to get a complaint from me every time because it rarely works.

But other might disagree with me there, which is fine. I grew up on a different brand of basketball and while I miss certain elements, I really do enjoy today’s game. Shaq has a point about the game… rules are different now and there’s much less contact and physicality in the game. But today’s NBA is also producing some beautiful results. The pace and space philosophy has given us a NBA champion that was, when it was firing on all cylinders, just amazing to watch. Today’s best NBA games require a level of offensive and defensive sophistication that we’ve never seen. The athletes are greater than ever, and so many guys can do so many things that it’s amazing to watch how they’re used.

So yes, the NBA is “softer” if you look at it from a certain perspective, but it’s evolution has taken it to an amazing place. I miss the 80’s basketball of my youth and I’ll be glued to NBA TV whenever I see that it’s on. But today’s game is pretty spectacular too, and the young generation who grow up on this brand of basketball will rightfully look back on this era with the same fondness I have for my formative NBA years.

And Finally…

…. Kelly Olynyk joins Andrew Wiggins and Nik Stauskas on Team Canada

Nine current NBA players were named to the squad Thursday as the team wrapped up its camp with a final workout at Air Canada Centre. NBA rookie of the year Andrew Wiggins highlights the roster, which also includes Minnesota Timberwolves teammate Anthony Bennett.

Other players included Melvin Ejim and Andrew Nicholson of the Orlando Magic, Nik Stauskas of the Philadelphia 76ers, Robert Sacre of the Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Powell of the Dallas Mavericks, Kelly Olynyk of the Boston Celtics and Cory Joseph of the Toronto Raptors.

The roster is rounded out by European league players Aaron Doornekamp (Braunschweig, Germany), Olivier Hanlan (BC Zalgiris, Lithuania), Brady Heslip (Pallacanestro Cantu, Italy) and Phil Scrubb (AEK Athens, Greece).

“We’ve had an intense camp and we’re looking forward to transitioning into game play,” said Canadian head coach Jay Triano. “Tuto Marchand will give us an opportunity to play against some of our key competition prior to the Olympic qualifier.”

Team Canada will take on Argentina, Brazil, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico in the five-team exhibition tournament, which runs through Wednesday.

That’s not a bad squad. I might have to find a way to tune into those games.

The rest of the links:

WEEI: Danny Ainge’s most consequential trades: Hello Wally Szczerbiak  |  Celtics.com: Celtics look to boost chemistry in Europe