Thunder In the news: Paul George serves up the catch of the day

With the OKC Thunder roster rounding into shape the players are prepping for training camp including via social functions to build team chemistry.

The OKC Thunder players met recently with Russell Westbrook hosting in LA. This has become something of an annual function the captain hosts in order to keep the camaraderie close and to maintain chemistry.

All the new faces:

With so many new team members these types of events are even more important as rookies and first year members transition into their new squad. Looking around the gym there are plenty of new faces to behold and in some cases even returning faces look different. Case in point, Brett Dawson of the Oklahoman posted a picture of Paul George’s newly shorn face.

In reality George appears to just have cleaned up his scraggly beard, but the effect is he looks years younger.

Hook, line and sinker:

Perhaps George was simply getting camera ready for his fishing tournament. Several OKC Thunder players were in attendance all with the hopes of landing the catch of the day. Here’s a smattering of pictures from the tournament and the host himself discussing his second annual celebrity fishing tournament.

https://twitter.com/okcthunder/status/1025808467485835264

Host George discusses event:

Brodie, ARob and new teammate Nader get in on the action:

Poll results:

The official OKC Thunder site ran a twitter poll with fans selecting the teams superstars to come out on top.

A sight for sore eyes:

The fact Andre Roberson is fishing isn’t news. Rather, it’s great to see him up and about actively participating in any function. Heading into the season his presence will factor large as this OKC Thunder should be among the top three defensively based on there personnel. In the shot below from the team’s website Roberson proudly displays his fishing license.

And the winner is….

Abdel Nader may just have joined the OKC Thunder, but the past week has given him ample opportunity to bond. Following his trade from the Celtics he flew to OKC to meet with Sam Presti. From there it was on to LA to participate with teammates at a practice event hosted by  Westbrook. Saturday it was George’s fishing event where it appears Nader won the catch of the day.

https://twitter.com/okcthunder/status/1025861167309250560

Chemistry building:

The takeaway from this weekend is both superstars (Westbrook and George) are taking their leadership roles seriously.

Even fun events like the fishing tournament serve a purpose. Building chemistry on the court is essential, but finding that bond off the floor can serve an even greater benefit.

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• Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder

Teams who get along have a tendency to naturally trust each other on the hardwood. Consistency is something which pays dividends long term and why many franchises prefer to maintain a core.

For Presti and the franchise that simply wasn’t an option outside of a handful of players. OKC’s core will be back with Russ, PG, ARob, Adams and two key contributors in Patrick Patterson and Jerami Grant.

However, financially this squad needed to cut costs. This meant veterans and youth became a focus. Certainly Presti has made excellent moves to add value via economics (Nerlens Noel, Raymond Felton) and savy trades (Schroder, Nader and  Luwawu-Cabarrot).

Still, there will be a number of youngsters formulating a good portion of the roster. Therefore these team building functions serve to help get this squad acquainted so they can hit the hardwood running in September.

And, for Nader he’ll also arrive with bragging rights and the trophy to prove it.