OKC Thunder in the news for Saturday, August 17 features Steven Adams New Zealand basketball camps, Chris Paul interacting with his young Thunder teammates and film work for Sam Presti.
Adams hosts camps back home:
Going all the way back to 2013 OKC Thunder big man Steven Adams has brought basketball training camps to his native New Zealand. This summer Adams is back at it recently holding a camp at Invercargill at the Stadium Southland.
Adams is keen to grow basketball in New Zealand and the kids attending the camps are thrilled to meet an NBA professional, no less one from their own country. Being in contact with someone who has made the leap to the pros particularly the NBA gives these kids optimism they can make it too if they work hard and are dedicated to their craft. Writer Damian Rowe of stuff covered the event and offered insights:
"Children who had participated in SBA events took priority but they managed to get some children in who weren’t associated with the club that had an enthusiasm for basketball.The camp would hopefully continue to grow the interest of basketball in Southland and there was a large number of girls attending the camp which would hopefully grow the women’s side of sport, she said."
Chris Paul already building chemistry with young teammates:
Writer Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman offers up an article on Chris Paul and his recent interaction with his new teammates and particularly the youngsters.
Specifically, CP3 is interacting with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and rookie Darius Bazley.
"Paul posted a picture of himself and Gilgeous-Alexander standing beside a basketball court for what appeared to be a private workout with performance coach Olin Simplis. On his Instagram story, Paul wrote across the picture, “@shai put a damn shirt on…”Gilgeous-Alexander re-posted the photo with the message, “@cp3 stop hating” and a laughing emoji."
From the looks of his Instagram story, Chris Paul is already connecting with some of his young new Thunder teammates. pic.twitter.com/l2rlv1ntiE
— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) August 16, 2019
In the Instagram story on CP3’s Instagram page, we get a look at SGA’s physically frame which is cut, but you can see the real need for the point guard to add muscle as he progresses in his career. Gilgeous-Alexander meanwhile is celebrating Kobe Bryant or rather his footwear on his Instagram page.
Bazley meanwhile is serving up colorful photos on his Instagram looking great in his OKC Thunder number 7 jersey.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1FwFh1n2BX/
Opponent games Sam Presti can learn from:
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Closer to home, T.I. outlined opponent games in which players are returning to play their former teams this season. These games are ones Sam Presti should pay close attention to as the players amp themselves up to perform well against their previous teams. And, depending on how well the player has meshed with his new team can inspire concerted efforts to get the win for that player.
That’s important to Sam Presti since he’ll be looking to build his new team and will need to spend ample time watching opponents to earmark specific targets for the Thunder.
Logically Presti and his crew will be viewing most games. However, witnessing these types of matches offers added insight.
Things like which young players step up and go the extra mile (almost like a playoff intensity) suggests those players could be better suited for the type of player the Thunder will want on their future squad.
That’s it for in the news on Saturday, August 17. Enjoy your weekend and remember to check in daily with Thunderous Intentions as the writing team serves up all things Thunder.