Thursday Bolts: 8.23.18

Adam Wells (B/R) on the Lakers being ‘pissed’ about not getting a free agency meeting with Paul George: “Appearing on Chris Pfaff’s Short Story Long podcast, George said the Lakers were “pissed” they didn’t get a chance to speak with him before he re-signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder. “L.A. was pissed at me,” he said. “I didn’t give Magic a meeting, which I understand. But at that point, I knew I wanted to give it another shot. I didn’t want to prolong it and waste people’s time.” The Lakers seemed like a prime destination for George when he became a free agent after the 2017-18 season. He was born in Los Angeles County and played college basketball at Fresno State.”

George’s full appearance on the Short Story Long podcast:

Scott LaForest (Nylon Calculus) on which players deserve more shots on offense: “Using these two dimensions we can break down the distribution of players into specific groups. Looking at the graph below, we can see a general pattern as well as the possibility of some similar groups. In the lower right of the graph, we have the high unassisted and low restricted area players. These are players that can create their own shots and I call them the “Creative Scorers.” The top of the graph have players with high restricted area percentages and many assisted makes. These types of players are your modern bigs such as Clint Capela, Rudy Gobert, and Steven Adams. I call this group the “Rim Runners”. Another fairly obvious group would be the lower left area of the graph with low UAST_PCT and low RA_AST_PCT. These players I call the “catch-and-shoot” players.”

Russ, PG, Buddy Hield, and others were back in action in LA:

Charlotte Edmonds (The Observer) on what makes Russell Westbrook great: “Westbrook is the backbone of the Thunder and, by extension, the backbone of our city. That might seem dramatic to those of you from major cities that boast multiple professional sports teams and industries and this is by no means meant to minimize the importance of those fanbases in their respective communities, but rather to highlight the unique influence of a successful and committed team to a small market. A state long scarred by tragic events — the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murray building, devastating tornados and dust bowls — has been transformed over the past decade. This birth of culture and industry is undoubtedly a result of the Thunder and their success. This new relevance has made Oklahoma City feel as though we finally belonged in the conversation with other major cities, even if we clearly didn’t really belong there.”

Nerlens Noel and Enes Kanter went 1v1 in yet another summer workout video:

Chris Gaine (Complex) has Russ/KD in his best social media beefs of 2018: “The most notable instance of this came in April when Durant liked an Instagram comment critical of Westbrook. The comment read: “‘subpar’ LMFAO the problem was Westbrook. [The Thunder] had a good ass team.” This made national headlines. And Durant didn’t even write this. He just liked it. And it still made national headlines. For a like. On something he didn’t even write. Welcome to 2018. Durant said the like was accidental. But that wouldn’t be the last potentially cryptic subpost of the Durant-Westbrook saga. In June, Westbrook posted a video of himself rapping the lyrics to Ice Cube’s “No Vaseline,” which includes the following bars: “Goddamn, I’m glad y’all set it off. Used to be hard, now you’re just wet and soft. First you was down with the AK. And now I see you on a video with Michel’le, Looking like straight Bozos. I saw it coming, that’s why I went solo.”

Brandon Richard (Sole Collector) on the ‘Photo Blue’ colorway of the Nike PG 2.5: “Oklahoma City Thunder fans excited about Paul George’s somewhat surprising decision to commit to the franchise long-term this summer may be interested in this upcoming colorway of the Nike PG 2.5. The Space Jam-like take on the hybrid starts with a black suede and mesh upper, locked down by a grey forefoot cross-strap. Photo Blue accents on the upper eyelets, medial Swoosh, pull-tab trim and speckles in the lateral Swoosh act as a subtle nod to the home team. The look is capped off by an icy translucent sole. As of now, the “Photo Blue” PG 2.5 is expected to release on September 30 for $110.”

This Andre Roberson vs NBA Superstars video is fantastic:

Around the League: Inside the stressful life of former ref, Joey Crawford…. Manu Ginobili is seriously considering retirement…. No, Kobe Bryant will not play in the BIG3…. Isaiah Austin is putting up big numbers in China…. The problem with owners wanting the mental health records of players…. Players poised to take over their franchise…. 80% of last season’s All-Stars now play in the Western Conference.