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Your Morning Dump… Where I’m subscribing to ESPN Insider just so I can cancel my subscription

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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.

Dunn seems like less of a fit until you realize that he would be the best pure point guard on the roster — right away.

Marcus Smart can play off the ball. Isaiah Thomas, an All-Star, can be dealt. Having an elite distributor, especially one that defends like Dunn does, would be very appealing.

It’s too early to know for sure which way the Celtics will go on draft night, but if the draft were today, I think Dunn would get the nod.

ESPN Insider as quoted by MassLive

Good grief, Chad. Dunn’s reps won’t even let the kid work out for Boston and you think they’re going to draft him sight unseen? With no interviews, no drills, nothing to go off of other than the YouTube equivalent of a mixtape? They’re going to draft this guy and DEAL Isaiah Thomas TO MAKE ROOM FOR HIM? Are you kidding me?

And, mind you, normally you have to pay ESPN to read this kind of logic!

Who does this? This is the equivalent of being able to read the Financial Times for free while Business Insider sits behind a paywall. No, strike that, I’ve read some good stuff on BI before. This is worse.

I shudder to think of the money that gets spent every year by legitimate news organizations like the Springfield Republican in order to access articles compiled by writers who are stretched far too thin to be able to do justice to the topic at hand, and who inevitably toss out specious reasoning in support of untenable conclusions.

Of course, Chad’s basically set up to fail. He doesn’t know all thirty teams in the NBA well enough to speak intelligibly of what each team needs versus who will likely be available–nor does he know the way each team’s management is inclined to operate. There aren’t that many people in this business that do. In fact, there may not be any.

Page 2: On this date: Friday, June 3, 1986

Courtesy NESN

Finally: Muhammed Ali – 1942-2016

You may recognize the man in the front row left

On a sunny Sunday afternoon in early June 1967, several hundred Clevelanders crowded outside the offices of the Negro Industrial Economic union in lower University Circle. None of those gathered, including a collection of the top black athletes of that time, realized the significance of what would happen in that building on this day.

Muhammad Ali, the most polarizing figure in the country, was inside being grilled by the likes of Bill Russell, Jim Brown and Lew Alcindor, who would later change his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. They weren’t interested in whether Ali was going to take his talents to South Beach or any other sports labor issues.

They wanted to know just how strong Ali stood behind his convictions as a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War. The questions flew fast and furious. Ali’s answers would determine whether Brown and the other athletes would throw their support behind the heavyweight champion, who would have his title stripped from him later in the month for his refusal to enter the military.

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Both Russell and Ali were outspoken advocates for civil rights. The article above is an excellent survey of what was at stake in professional sports almost fifty years ago. It’s worth reading if for no other reason than to get perspective on how trivial many issues in sports are today (like, say, a poorly reasoned mock draft dashed off by an overworked ESPN writer, or the overall low quality of their subscriber-only material).

The rest of the links

CSNNE: Who is the best big man in the 2016 NBA Draft? | Celtics reportedly high on Marquese Chriss, down on Dragan Bender | Top shooting big men on Celtics’ draft radar | Report: Sixers shopping Noel and Okafor ‘to at least 15 teams’

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  • Michael Merriam

    Great stuff Rich. The major network analysis is truly so often deluded and diluted.

    I feel Dunn let the Friars down a bit this year. He could’ve done so much more, taken over games, made the solid play rather than try to make the spectacular, etc. He is an immense talent and given good mentorship could be a perennial all-star, but with no interviews or workouts I agree the C’s are unlikely to go near him unless it’s an instant draft & trade scenario.

  • cdub

    I can say without doubt that Danny Ainge has seen Dunn play live at least 3 times because I was at the Friars games and saw him there scouting. Danny is obsessed with this kid. And to the poster below, I’m not sure if you watched a bunch of games this past year but the friars outside of Dunn, Bentil (who is a beast but will struggle in the nba due to size) and kyron cartright had an absolutely awful team. Dunn was double and triple teamed all big east play and in the tournament. I went to the tournament where Bentil had foul trouble all game against UNC, it was 5 vs 1 for essentially half the game and even though they lost and should have, Dunn still had 30. The kid is going to be a better version of Tyreke Evans, its the best comparison I’ve seen so far. And by better I mean will shoot 3’s and play better defense than ‘Reke.

    • Richard Jensen

      If his reps won’t let him talk to the C’s, they’re almost certainly not going to burn the #3 pick in the draft on him. I can’t imagine any close Celtics observer putting Dunn as the odds on favorite the way Ford did.

  • jrleftfoot

    If they take him it`ll be to trade.Danny is obssessed with IT too, and we know he`s an allstar.

  • RedsLoveChild

    Dunn is a Dud!

    He could barely stay healthy in college, and he`ll never be able to physically withstand the rigors of the NBA.
    His advisors know this, which is why they want the draft to take place before teams can scrutinize him too closely.

    As incompetent as Ainge is…it`s unlikely even he`ll be dumb enough to draft him.

  • Frank Aziza

    My subscription just expired and my credit has expired too. ESPN keeps emailing me about my subscription, to update my credi card info. Lol. Screw them, I’m done paying to read garbage.

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