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 some teams, the end of a long, grueling NBA season signals the chance to get away, the chance for vacations and workouts with private trainers. And the Celtics know there is value in all of that, but head coach Brad Stevens also believes it is important for his staff to maintain connections to the players while they are scattered across the country. It is all part of the culture he has worked tirelessly to establish since arriving here just over three years ago.

So near the start of each summer, Stevens gathers with his assistants and maps out plans for small reunions. Sometimes a coach is dispatched to visit with just one player; other times he meets with a group. They are instructed to do more than just lead a workout or check whether the players are in shape, though.

“More importantly, just to see them, sweat with them, spend time with them, have lunch with them,” assistant coach Micah Shrewsberry said. “Just continue to grow these bonds.”

Boston Globe – Summer is a bonding time for Celtics coaches and players

Burgers with Al Horford, LA traffic with Jaylen Brown, watching the Olympics with Jonas Jerebko, apple picking and caramel spiced lattes with Tyler Zeller (ok, I made that one up)– are these the building blocks upon which championships are built?

Probably not. But what’s been clear since day one of the Brad Stevens regime is that regardless of age or lack of experience, the guy gets players to buy in. It’s made all the more evident by Stevens’ early success and by long awaited roster continuity. And while culture alone doesn’t win championships, one only needs to look to the 07-08 Celtics as a prime example of what a strong culture can mean for team success.

It’s also not clear how prevalent this practice of coach-player, summer bonding is across the league. It’s not like while Stevens’ staff is out connecting with players, Frank Vogel’s staff is out in Orlando riding splash mountain all by themselves while the players hang out on their own, but the Cs seem to take this practice very seriously.

This Celtics roster is still young, though, and the big free agent the team brought in is a known chemistry enhancer, so the coaching staff’s summer bonding should have a markedly positive effect when the team convenes to start training camp in less than a month.

In the meantime, kumbaya, Celtics, kumbaya.

On page 2, How ya feelin’ now, Doc?

With Rivers back in town on Tuesday night for the annual ABCD Hoop Dreams fundraiser at TD Garden, the Clippers coach and president of basketball operations was asked whether he could have envisioned the Celtics turning things around this quickly.

“I didn’t know,” he said. “[Celtics president of basketball operations] Danny [Ainge], [assistant general manager] Mike [Zarren], [owner Steve Pagliuca] and that whole group have done an amazing job of collecting picks and assets. Now, their next step is obviously turning them into players.”

ESPN Boston – Are the Boston Celtics in a better spot than the Doc Rivers’ Clippers?

I don’t think he meant it this way, but I like reading Doc’s quote above as “I didn’t know, how was I supposed to know that they could turn this team into a group I’d actually want to coach in such a short amount of time. Had I known that, maybe I wouldn’t have left.” 

Also, what Doc fails to mention is the masterful job that Brad Stevens has done to get this collection of “picks and assets” into the upper-echelon of the Eastern Conference. Could Doc have done that? We’ll never know. Instead, Doc finds himself in a pretty precarious position. Yes, he has the better collection of players in Los Angeles than the Celtics do in Boston, but that may only be the case for one more season. If the Clippers fail to make the Western Conference Finals again, it’s likely over for them. Even if they do, is this group getting past Golden State? Ask Doc this question in a year and Forsberg will probably have to qualify it with “Doc said, while fighting through tears.”