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.

Let’s get a couple things out of the way here before going any further. To start, I believe that the Celtics finding a way to acquire Anthony is a pretty big long shot. It’s a discussion the team should not realistically consider as a possibility until the front office is able to acquire a second star like Love to put alongside Rondo.

Until then, Anthony wouldn’t consider coming to a rebuilding Celtics squad in all likelihood. And even if the Celtics do make a major splash around the NBA Draft, there’s still no guarantee Melo would want to come here if he opts out of his deal with the Knicks.

With that said, the fact that some Celtics fans out there are hesitant about even wanting Anthony in Boston if he became available is a bit troublesome to me. I understand some of the concerns. Anthony was the leader of an awful Knicks team last year. His numbers might lead you to believe he’s a selfish player since he’s topped the NBA in shot attempts per game for two straight seasons. His defense is questionable at best. Anthony has his flaws, as any player does.

CBS – Putting Carmelo Anthony in perspective

I’ve long believed that as long as LeBron James exists in the NBA, Carmelo Anthony is never going to win a ring. Anthony can score like few else can, and he’s been a good rebounder for his position. But there isn’t a chance in hell he’s going to be able to trump LeBron in a seven-game series. Given, there really isn’t anybody in the league who can stop LeBron for more than a few minutes at a time, but if the Miami big three is still together next year and beyond, any team planning to shut down the heat is going to need a lock-down defender at small forward.

Having a Rondo-Love-Carmelo big three would be a thrill, but I just can’t see it being a formula for a championship. As I considered last week, adding Love and then building around the one-two punch of him and Rondo would stand a better chance in my opinion, especially if the C’s added a cheaper guy like Loul Deng, who has experience and success guarding LeBron. They’d save a ton of money that would be going to ‘Melo, and Ainge could fill the roster out with a much deeper rotation (and re-sign Pierce).

Adding superstars is still the best bet to win in the NBA, but at some point you must consider a lack of killer instinct.

Also, the article we took the ‘Melo picture from is about how he spent $35,000 on a bottle of champagne for his 30th birthday the other day…

Page 2: Are the C’s looking to add late picks?

The Boston Celtics do not own a second-round pick in the 2014 NBA draft, but that hasn’t stopped them from examining players that might available after their two first-round selections (Nos. 6 and 17), particularly players projected to be second-round picks or go undrafted.

“Mock drafts are one thing; we try not to be married to those,” said Celtics director of player personnel Austin Ainge. “We try to have our own opinions, as does everyone. We also have a history of being very aggressive on draft night. You never know what trades and buying picks, you never know what will happen. Phil Pressey played a lot for us this year and he wasn’t drafted, so we try to be prepared with everyone and it’s not just the 6th and 17th pick we look at.”

ESPN Boston – Lack of late pick doesn’t deter C’s prep

Ainge and his guys seem to be pretty good at sniffing out talent where their shouldn’t be any. The article recalls Ainge inviting Phil Pressey to camp immediately after the draft ended last year. Being that proactive in pursuing a guy like Pressey is a low-risk bargain, but now it seems as though Ainge was  confident he’d be a capable player in the NBA. We still haven’t even had the change to see why Ainge bought the pick that led to Colton Iverson, but one must be curious as to how high he values Iverson. Buying a pick that late indicates just how much the C’s front office was afraid of missing out on him to one of the last seven teams to draft.

And that’s just from last year’s so-so draft class. Fast-forward to the upcoming draft, Ainge must be drooling with the potential he anticipates going in the second round or even undrafted. Phil Jackson’s rumored to be interested in some of the Sixer’s second round picks (of which they have five….). Still, the Knicks are depleted on all fronts. If and when Ainge finds a guy on his radar who’s still available later in the draft, I can see him cutting some minor deals to pick up some obscure names. Unless of course, he’s too busy detonating the fireworks.

Finally, here’s Gatorade trolling LeBron yesterday,

Just the screenshot, Gatorade deleted the tweet.

The rest of the links:

Grantland – NBA Finals Game 1: The Beauty of the Matchup

CSNNE – Draft Prospect Breakdowns: Adreian Payne | What move would you like to see Ainge make?