Tuesday Bolts: 11.12.19

Jerry West spoke with Sam Amick (The Athletic) about the Clippers and what they had to give up to pry Paul George from the Thunder: “We gave up three of our draft picks and a terrific young player in Shai, who I think we all feel horrible about. And Gallo (Gallinari), who is a very good player himself. Those are the difficult things, letting players go who you really like. I think Shai is going to be an All-Star player in this league for a long time, and he’ll keep getting better.”

Drew Packham (NBA.com) recently put Darius Bazley in his Rookie Ladder honorable mentions.

Nick Crain (Forbes) notes that the Thunder’s offensive rebounding dominance has eroded this season.

Nick Gallo (okcthunder.com) with some trends heading into tonight’s game against the Pacers: “For three consecutive games the Thunder has set a season-high in assists with 26 at San Antonio, 30 against Golden State and 31 versus Milwaukee. As a result the Thunder’s offensive metrics have continued rising over the past week, demonstrating Donovan’s insistence that the ball scores when it is moved from side to side on the floor. On Sunday, seven Thunder players had at least 2 assists, led by Nerlens Noel and Gilgeous-Alexander with 6 apiece.”

Alec Burks tells Anthony Slater (The Athletic) that he doesn’t regret taking the Thunder’s offer to de-commit and sign with the Warriors: ““It ain’t been tough,” Burks said. “I committed here for other reasons besides playing with those great players. I like the culture. I like Steve (Kerr). I like Bob (Myers). That’s what sold me at first. And I like the people right here that’s playing, that’s healthy. We’ll eventually get those guys back. Doesn’t matter if we winning or losing, it’s just building a culture. I’m glad where I’m at. I’m proud I made a good decision.”

Kirk Goldsberry (ESPN) checks in on how the Russell Westbrook experiment is going in Houston: “Offense is a lot more than just shooting. The other things Westbrook brings to the table — things like his passing, his frenetic spark and his explosive transition abilities — are fundamentally changing the ways the Rockets play offense, and so far the chemistry between these two old friends looks pretty good.”

Your Daily Thunder community predictions have been updated for the past week. My Jazz are gonna come through this year, I feel it.

Send in your mailbag questions for Brandon, who’s been closely covering the Thunder in person this season.