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.

But there may be no greater indication that the Celtics currently have a major roster and rotation problem than on Monday when Bass spent seven cryptic minutes with reporters in which he — as politely as possible — seemed to express dissatisfaction about his most recent reduction in playing time.

Bass has logged a mere 10.5 minutes per game since the players acquired from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for his pal Rajon Rondo joined the lineup. That’s the fewest on the team among those who have played in all four games.

ESPN Boston: Bass feels squeeze of crowded roster

“It’s the perception of things. You see one thing, and it’s not really that.”

Asked what he meant by perception, Bass pulled back — “If I wanted to tell you,” he said, “then I would have told you.” The Celtics forward alluded to some inner conflict, however.

“If I live like a man under a rock, y’all would know about it, and I would express myself in a way like a man who lived under a rock,” Bass said. “But since I don’t live like that, I know better.

“I just control what I can control and look at everything like a blessing. This is my 10th season. Some people don’t even get to go through what I’ve gone through in my career. I try to find some good out of everything.”

Herald: Playing time crunch has Bass down

It’s easy to see what’s going on here.  Brandon Bass’ time with the Celtics is done.  That’s it.

He’s not going to be part of the team’s future going forward, so the Celtics don’t feel the need to use him now or figure out anything about how he fits anywhere.

He’s that extra fastener you have left over when you put a piece of IKEA furniture together. You’re sure it could help you, but you obviously don’t need it, so you’re not going to pull everything apart trying to figure out where it goes.

Which makes me kind of sad because Brandon Bass doesn’t deserve to be squeezed out. As much as I know what’s going on and don’t disagree with it, it’s a shame to see because Bass does nothing besides come to work every day, bust his ass, and play hard. The guy takes care of himself and these quotes are the closest thing you’ll ever get to him lashing out.

To put it another way… Brandon Bass is a total pro.  And pros like him will get work, and probably soon.  There is a team out there somewhere that could use a Brandon Bass, who is reasonably paid at just under $7 million this season and who is guaranteed to come in and be one of a team’s hardest workers.

There is an inclination from some people to argue that this is the time to “showcase” Bass and make him more attractive in a trade by playing him more and getting him some big games to get people’s attention.  That’s a misconception, though, for a guy like Bass. He can go out and drop 20 and 10 tomorrow and while fans and NBA TV would get a little rise out of it, NBA General Managers are already well aware of what he can do.  He’s been doing this for 10 years, and teams know his every tendency and capability by now.  The only time “showcasing” comes into play is if you want to move a player who has developed a discernible new skill (like suddenly becoming a 40% 3-point shooter on a nightly basis) or a young guy who has developed (like, say, Kelly Olynyk who has suddenly shown he can score the ball pretty well). Unless you’re showing teams something completely new about a player, you can believe they already know everything there is to know.

Brad Stevens has a job to do, and winning games this season is most certainly NOT at the top of his list anymore. As an advocate of winning as a teaching tool, I’d like to see the team figure out its rotations sooner rather than later so they can get that positive feeling of W’s instead of L’s. But I get why they’re here, and why they’re here this year rather than last year.  It doesn’t really matter at this point. This is where the team is.

And this is where Brandon Bass won’t be by the time the summer is over… or if Danny Ainge has his way, probably by mid-February. An expiring deal and draft pick would probably do the trick for Ainge, who’s stockpiling picks like they’re canned ravioli during the apocalypse. And we’ll watch another piece of a formerly good team wear the uniform of a currently good team… and hope that it all pays off with ours being good too.  Eventually.

Related links:  MassLive: Bass on diminished role: “No anticipating nothing like this” |  CSNNE: Despite being odd man out, Bass continues to work  |  Washington Post: Celtics in an awkward period post-Rondo

Page 2:  James Young likes the D-League now

Shortly after he was drafted, it was clear that Young wanted no part of playing for Boston’s D-League affiliate or any minor league club for that matter.

Today, he actually looks forward to it.

In fact, Young said his most recent D-League stint was actually at his urging. The 6-foot-6 wing had 15 points in Maine’s 96-95 loss on Sunday to Canton.

“I actually talked to Ron (Nored, Celtics assistant coach) about going up there this time,” Young told CSNNE.com prior to Monday’s practice. “I wanted to get back into the motion of things. I was hurt for a little bit.”

Young suffered a right shoulder subluxation injury on Dec. 10 during a previous D-League stint with the Red Claws. In fact, Sunday’s game with Maine was his first action in a game since the injury.

“I thought it was a good thing for me to knock some rust off and get back into my game that way,” Young said of playing with the Red Claws.

CSNNE:  Young now embracing D-League opportunities

As we told you yesterday, Young is doing pretty well in Maine, and because of recent rules changes (and proximity), he can go and play in Portland one night and be back at Celtics practice the next.

Of course, the big question now is when he’ll get some minutes with the big boys. One could argue that he fits into the justification I just made for sitting Brandon Bass.

Jeff Green is not a part of the Celtics’ future, so it’s easy to see him sitting a few extra minutes a game while James Young started to get some minutes against NBA competition.  This situation is a little bit different, though.

A: Green does fall into the “showcasing” thing a little bit, if the Celtics are trying to show teams that he’s a legit 20 ppg scorer now.  Of course, we all know he’s not, really, but if he showed that more, it would be a discernible new skill.  So maybe they want him to be seen as a guy who can finally be “the guy.”

B: Jae Crowder is going to get a chance to earn minutes, and he has a legitimate shot at staying with this team long-term. So he’s going to get some of those minutes that we are hoping Young can get. Crowder is a third-year player, and is eligible to go to Maine if the team wants, but they’re not going to do that. He’s been playing NBA games, and they need to continue to assess him against NBA competition.

C: Young has been hurt, so he’s behind. A hamstring injury in the preseason and a recent shoulder injury have set him back. If he’d been fully healthy, he might have gotten some good minutes by now. But he’s once again working his way back, so he’s once again finding himself in Maine.

I think if he stays healthy, he’ll get himself some playing time this season.  And of course, there is the very real possibility of a mid-season trade involving Jeff Green that will open up some serious minutes (depending on who the team gets back). Then again, Young could be thrown into the deal and that would be the end of that.

I think the Celtics want to keep Young around, though, since he’s shown an ability to do what few other guys can… score.  The team definitely needs a confident young player who can score in bunches, and Young has at least shown the potential to become that.  At some point soon, the D-League assignments will have to end and he’ll have to be tested against NBA talent.

And Finally…

The Cavs are a mess…

There is a growing level of worry within the Cleveland Cavaliers organization about first-year coach David Blatt and his ability to reach the team, according to league sources.

Sources told ESPN.com that there is rising concern in team circles about the level of response that Blatt is getting on the floor, with Blatt himself acknowledging that the Cavaliers “lost our energy and we lost our competitiveness” in Sunday night’s embarrassing home loss to Detroit.

We saw this in Miami with Spoelstra and that worked out ok for them, but they have stable ownership and Spo is Pat Riley’s guy… so the team put those rumors down quickly.

Blatt is Dan Gilbert’s guy in Cleveland, but Gilbert is a terrible owner. His level of desperation will be tested with this situation.  Does he give Blatt the latitude to build a relationship with LeBron James that can last, or does he get involved in a way that diminish’s Blatt’s standing with the team and basically cuts his balls off?

The smart move would be to direct all personnel to make it clear: Blatt is THE coach, and THE authority on the team. Maybe you call him into the office and let him know that he can work with confidence and that you’ve got his back.  If a player comes in to complain, you let him know in no uncertain terms “I hear what you’re saying, but he is our coach and you’re going to have to talk to him to work out your issues because he’s in charge.”

That’s the smart thing to do. What will Dan Gilbert do?  That’s another story.

LeBron haters might want to watch this situation closely. This has a high potential of imploding.

The rest of the links:

Globe: Brandan Wright developing his role with Celtics  |  MassLive: Sullinger (ankle) misses practice, Thornton getting close  |  Bass thinks East is wide open  |  CSNNE: Sullinger (ankle) misses practice  |  ESPN Boston: Bass: We have enough talent to compete  |  Practice: Smart’s starts in focus  |  Boston.com: Pierce “shocked” by Rondo trade