Wednesday Bolts: 8.2.17

Rob Mahoney (SI) on how the Thunder will use Paul George & Russell Westbrook: “The goal isn’t to stop Westbrook from being a high-usage creator, but merely to remove the need for him to be a historically high-usage one. There will still be plenty of opportunity for Westbrook to charge headlong into the lane in a way that compromises the entire defense. George, through his curls, simply presents an alternative when the conditions aren’t quite right. For those half-court possessions when a defense can steel itself for Westbrook’s drives, an off-ball screen for George to free him up on the wing could shake something loose. The Thunder already have their proof of concept with the only other wing in the league of George’s size, ball-handling, and shooting ability.”

Bleacher Report says OKC still has the most realistic package to get Carmelo Anthony: “Oklahoma City Thunder trade Alex Abrines, Doug McDermott, Enes Kanter and two future second-round picks to the New York Knicks for Carmelo Anthony”

Brett Dawson spoke with Andre Roberson about his free throws: “He’s tried shooting them underhanded. So if you’re going to approach Andre Roberson with free-throw shooting advice — and he’d rather you didn’t, but knows from experience that you might — you can scratch that technique off your list. “I tried it in practice,” Roberson said, mimicking a two-handed underhand toss. “That s— does not work. I’m sorry.”

Dan Favale on why Russell Westbrook is a risk to leave OKC: “Watching George leave may be the final straw. The Thunder would still have Steven Adams and a path toward monster cap room in 2019, but Oklahoma City isn’t a free-agent hotspot. It’s never needed to be. Now, with George set to face a slew of other options, it needs to be. And if it’s not, the Thunder won’t just be at risk of missing out on George and all the other big-name options that become available over the next few years. They’ll be in danger of losing Westbrook, too.”

Russ dropped an odd tweet yesterday in regard to “sources”:

Thunder uniform design concepts via Justin Peabody: “We reached out to Justin Peabody — graphic designer and concept jersey extraordinaire — to develop some custom Thunder uniform options for use on Daily Thunder. Not only did Justin come through for us, he sent a grand total of 24 looks across six complete sets of uniforms. The final result is…. well, it’s really great.”

Westbrook hinted at the Jordan 32 yesterday on Snapchat: “There’s not been any info directly from Jordan Brand about its next Air Jordan game shoe yet, but the man who will lead the sneaker in the NBA dropped a teaser this week. Russell Westbrook took to Snapchat where he suggested that he’s working on something related to the Air Jordan 32 at the moment.”

Royce Young joined The Basketball Analogy Podcast yesterday: “Brian Windhorst, Tim MacMahon, Royce Young and Tim Bontemps talk Wiggins, Kyrie, Brinks Sandals, Nuggets and the NBA’s New Economy.”

Shea Serrano looks for the most Kobe-est shot of all Kobe Bryant’s attempts: “The NBA’s third-leading scorer of all time never met a shot he didn’t think he could make — distance and defenders be damned. But which of his attempts best exemplifies his indomitable self-belief?”