Thursday Bolts: 02.13.20
Maddie Lee (The Oklahoman) dives into Chris Paul’s mentorship of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. “Paul’s mentorship of young teammates has played a large role in the Thunder’s over-performance this season — although Paul would argue that he expected to win even more games. Paul’s fierce loyalty to this group of players is part of his leadership. OKC guard Dennis Schroder said Paul changed the team’s culture. Now, the Thunder’s rising stars, like Gilgeous-Alexander, are developing in a system influenced by Paul’s style of play.”
Saturday will mark the first time the Florida Gators play on Billy Donovan Court, and Clay Horning (Norman Transcript) says that it will be an emotional day for Donovan. “‘I think it will be very, very emotional, you know, for me,’ Donovan said. ‘Going there when I was 30 years old and, [in] the coaching profession, it’s very, very hard to stay in the same place for a long period of time and I was fortunate to be there for 19 years.'”
Per Michael Scotto (Bleacher Report), both the Miami Heat and New York Knicks plan to pursue Danilo Gallinari in free agency. “Despite failing to acquire Gallinari at the deadline, Miami remains a potential destination for the Italian sharpshooter in free agency because the Heat created additional cap space by moving Johnson, Justise Winslow and Dion Waiters… Another team that could be a potential suitor for Gallinari is the New York Knicks with CAA’s Leon Rose expected to take over as team president. After trading Marcus Morris Sr. for Maurice Harkless and draft pick compensation, the Knicks have plenty of cap space to use this summer. Rose and Gallinari’s agent, Michael Tellem of CAA Sports, have worked closely together during their time at the agency.”
Welcome to Loud City profiles Darius Bazley’s path to the NBA. “Between skipping college basketball for an internship, nearly going straight from high school to the G-League, and living with two-time NBA champion sharpshooter Mike Miller, it’s clear that Oklahoma City Thunder wing Darius Bazley— who showed flashes of greatness this season before sustaining an injury that will sideline him for 4-6 weeks— has always had one goal in mind: quickly get to the NBA and work to be one of the greats.”
How about this for a random stat:
Do you like to play video games? The OKC Blue is hosting a gaming event to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network. Maybe one of our community mods, who plays entirely too much Rocket League, would be interested.
