Russell Westbrook and Paul George will be teammates for the first time in the NBA this upcoming season after George was traded to the Thunder earlier this offseason. Just like any other superstar duo in NBA history, it will take time for both players to get acclimated to each other on and off the court. The duo got a head start after having their first workout together on Monday at a UCLA gym with four Oklahoma City teammates, ESPN’s Royce Young writes.
Young noted that Monday’s workout was the second organized by Westbrook this summer but George was unable to attend the first one due to a pre-planned vacation. Monday’s acclimation was the first of many steps for the reigning MVP and George to become comfortable; George addressed the importance of establishing a chemistry with his new teammates during his introductory press conference.
“Right now, it’s taking it as it comes,” George said (via ESPN). “We have a fresh start, and a chance to do something special is really the first thing that comes to mind. I’m not looking past 2017-18, we haven’t accomplished nothing yet. When it comes to that, when I get there, we’ll address that, but right now me and [Westbrook] have something to build now, and we’ll see where it takes us. It could be something that’s special that we build and want to continue on building.”
Read up on other news around the Northwest Division:
- Roster turnover in Utah has left the future of the Jazz in flux and that includes 24-year-old Rodney Hood, Benjamin Mehic of The Deseret News writes. The departure of Gordon Hayward has left a major void, which Hood, a player the Jazz believe can be a scoring weapon, could fill seamlessly. However, a poor season could end Hood’s run in Utah as the team prepares for the future.
- In a Q&A with Donnovan Bennett of Sportsnet, Canada native Jamal Murray answered a series of questions pertaining to undergoing surgery on his core muscles, his recent travels, and his expectations for the Nuggets during the 2017/18 season.
- In a lengthy feature, James Blancarte of Basketball Insiders recaps the Timberwolves‘ active offseason, which included a major trade (Jimmy Butler) and free agency signings (Jeff Teague, Jamal Crawford). With a strong core that already includes Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, the team is poised for a strong season.
I can see Thunder finishing as high as 3rd in the West and winning their division, but I can also see them having to ship PG13 out because he and Russ don’t work. Will be an interesting thing to watch all season. Similar things could happen in Houston. It’s a lot harder to assimilate a super star into a team than what Golden State did last year
Westbrook and George have different paces; metabolisms. That could be good or bad but like someone else said here, there’s good odds next year will see George out and Cousins in.
Last year Westnrook was really throwing up some garbage shots and his 2pt% fell even as his 3pt% was his best. George could have done better in those late-shotclock situations. That’s the good. The bad is that George does not seem like the sentimental type and OKC is not LA.
Kevin Durant isn’t a super star?
PG is going to the lakers def. he’s rebuilding value and trying to keep the lakers out of tampering charges right now which would prevent him from going there. I think now that the lakers rid themselves of Russell next step is probably Randle and there will b some stars head there to play with Lonzo if he performs well enough because of his unselfish nature. Lonzo won’t b a 20 pt per game guy. He may b a 10 assist a game guy tho and there will b a lot of really good players lining up to take the shots he’s gunna make for them