Thunder in the news: Paul George shines in intersquad scrimmage

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Happy Monday Thunder Nation! It was quite the weekend for us: Russell Westbrook extended on Friday, Paul George made some interesting comments Saturday and the team balled out in an intersquad scrimmage on Sunday. Obviously we’ve got a lot to discuss so I won’t waste your time. Let’s get to it.

Paul George says Russ’ contract extension will make his decision “easier”…

I don’t know how to feel about this. For eight years we heard similar comments from Kevin Durant about how he wanted to be in Oklahoma City forever. Now PG is speaking in the same hypothetical language. It seems like George genuinely likes the organization though, and the potential for a championship roster is there past this season. So maybe he truly means it. We’ll just have to see.

"“Not only in us pairing together, but just knowing what type of dude Russ is and his values and his beliefs and him being committed to this organization says a lot. And I’m one person that’s enjoying it here, so I think when that time comes, the decision will be easier to make for myself.”"

…then George balls out in annual intersquad scrimmage

Now I get why PG likes Oklahoma City so much. In his first public appearance with the Thunder George went off for 30 points on only 14 shots. Sure he was playing mostly against the OKC second unit/reserves/D-leaguers, but he looked smooth in the Thunder offense playing with Carmelo. Speaking of Melo – those game-leading 5 assists speaks wonders to how he’s going to play this season.

Related: Why Thunder fans never lost faith Russell Westbrook would sign extension

Who should run the Thunder’s bench unit?

We all have seen Carmelo’s response to coming off the bench during Thunder Media Day. That’s not what Gideon Lim is suggesting. Instead he sees Melo as the perfect player to start, come out a little earlier than the starters and return to run the second unit offense. I’ll let him explain the theory in greater detail though.

"To be clear, this is not a discussion about superstars getting benched. Rather, it is about playing time, and captaining the second unit."

Thanks again for reading! Make sure you’re checking Thunderous Intentions every day as we get closer to the start of the season for all your Oklahoma City updates.