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.

It’s hard to envision Denver (#7) or Detroit (#8) trading down, since so many players potentially available at those slots fill their respective needs. And it’d be stunning if anyone in the top 6 moved out, unless it was for a proven player, as rumored with New York.

Charlotte (#9) needs shooting and Stanley Johnson would be a fine pick, but maybe they’d prefer to trade down to the 16th spot to select Devin Booker, R.J. Hunter, or Kelly Oubre, all while acquiring extra assets. Depending on what they want to do with restricted free agent Bismack Biyombo could also play into their decision to stay put or trade out.

Miami is an interesting spot at the 10th pick, since they have their pieces, but all of them can either opt out or are aging (Deng, Bosh, Wade, Dragic). Pat Riley could sit tight and take the best player available, but trading down and grabbing two insurance pieces at #16 and #28 isn’t a bad option either with such an uncertain summer to come.

The Celtics could always make a minor transaction with any of the teams in the backend of the lottery, much like they did two years ago trading the #16 pick and multiple seconds to move to #13 for Kelly Olynyk. With so many draft picks, Danny Ainge might want to make this type of jump just to assure that his team is able to snatch the player they’re targeting, even if it’s not a prize from the top 10.

CelticsBlog – Examining trade-up draft prospects for the Celtics

Kevin O’Connor over at CelticsBlog wrote this article detailing potential options/targets as we begin to transition to draft night. I think it’s safe to say Danny would prefer to package these picks for an established star-caliber player, but those are hard to come by. With four picks coming up (16th, 28th, 33rd, and 45th), it may be best to try and condense these into a single pick of higher value, in an effort to save roster spots for free agency. But much like trading for established talent, trying to trade up into the top-tier of the draft likely won’t be possible.

Still, moving up to the 9th-11th pick range is conceivable, although Ainge has to be careful and play his cards close (thankfully he’s good at this). Reason being, teams may view Boston’s situation as time-sensitive, in the sense that Danny needs to put a good team around Brad Stevens before it’s too late. And so teams may low ball Danny on trade swaps, knowing he can’t afford to add four more rookies to the roster for next year.

Aside from trading up in the draft, Ainge could try to trade for unproven lottery talent from previous years. Guys from last year’s draft (Noah Vonleh, Doug McDermott, Aaron Gordon) may be available, and if Ainge liked any of those guys last spring during workouts, it could be worth looking into.

And if there aren’t any options via trade, it certainly isn’t the worst problem to have. Shooting and shot blocking can be found with the picks we currently have, but if I were Ainge, I wouldn’t be looking for any more long-term projects.

Page 2: IT chillin’ in Vegas with AI

Celtics G Isaiah Thomas & PHI legend Allen Iverson share a moment in Vegas hours before #MayPac. (via @Isaiah_Thomas) pic.twitter.com/By30Qnxw1K

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 2, 2015

As we now know, Isaiah Thomas and Floyd Mayweather are buddies, so it wasn’t surprising to see in IT in Vegas in support of his friend. Brady was there too — apparently he attended the Kentucky Derby and then took a flight to Vegas for the double header. It’s funny that the Boston Celtics represent one of the only commonalities between Mayweather and Pacquiao. Manny was a fan of the Big Three, and once held a fight until after a C’s game finished. On the other side, Mayweather’s link to the Celtics is through his friendship with Isaiah.

The rest of the links:

ESPN Boston – 2015 Boston cap space journey 

CSNNE – Stevens: All the young guys have to improve

Boston Herald – Danny Ainge confident Isaiah Thomas will produce regardless of role