Oklahoma City Thunder: Russell Westbrook, Paul George working to build chemistry
The Oklahoma City Thunder made a big addition this offseason in Paul George. He and Russell Westbrook are already working on their chemistry for this season.
The Oklahoma City Thunder pulled off one of the biggest surprises in the offseason when they acquired Paul George from the Indiana Pacers. Throughout all of the trade talks, the Thunder were never mentioned as a potential landing spot. The Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics were most often mentioned.
However, it was the Thunder that eventually landed him. It didn’t even take much to accomplish it. The Thunder were big winners in the George trade, as it cost them only Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.
Oladipo’s contract looked like it was going to quickly become an albatross. Sabonis had a disappointing rookie season and should be easily replaced this season. Landing George catapults the Thunder near the top of the uber-competitive Western Conference this season and opens up their cap flexibility in future seasons if George decides to leave.
For the Thunder to reach that potential, there is plenty of work to be done. Russell Westbrook thrived last season in a ball-dominant role. He took home MVP honors as he stuffed the stat sheet, averaging a triple-double for the season. Westbrook averaged 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game.
The 41.6 usage rate Westbrook had last season was record-breaking. He will continue to initiate the offense and be the leader, but his game will have to adjust some with George in town. The chemistry that those two builds will be important to the team’s success, and they recognize that.
The two have already begun working out together in hopes of building that chemistry. Westbrook and George were working out together in Los Angeles this past Monday, according to Royce Young of ESPN.
Oklahoma City Thunder
The source added that the two were working out at a gym on UCLA’s campus, where Westbrook went to college. The two players went through drills and conditioning together, but they were not alone.
In addition to Westbrook and George, there were also a number of other Thunder teammates present. According to the source, Jerami Grant, Kyle Singler, Doug McDermott and Semaj Christon were also in attendance.
The new roster has a lot of potential, but there are a lot of new parts. George is the most important among them, but their starting lineup could have two or three new faces this season depending on what direction Billy Donovan wants to go in.
In addition to George, the Thunder also added stretch-4 Patrick Patterson to take the place of Taj Gibson, who signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves in free agency. Both of them should be in the starting lineup this season. Depending on what Donovan does with Andre Roberson, the team could have three new starters this season.
That is why it is nice to see Westbrook setting up these workouts. The sooner the teammates can jell together, the better the results will be in the regular season. This was actually the second workout that Westbrook set up this offseason, but George was unable to attend the first one.
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The Thunder were really hit hard when Kevin Durant decided to leave last year as a free agent. That kind of departure can derail a franchise for multiple seasons. However, Sam Presti has quickly put things back together in Oklahoma City. They will be a tough out all season with Westbrook having a new running mate in George.