After months away from the team and then only solo activities over the first five days of training camp, the Oklahoma City Thunder started group workouts on Monday.
“I’ve been doing so much one-one-one workouts all these months, it’s been great to play with the guys,” third-year guard Hamidou Diallo said. “I haven’t competed since the bubble pretty much so it’s been great.”
With a group of brand new players, head coach Mark Daigneault is starting with basics of the organizational philosophy and identity.
“The emphasis was on style of play on both ends of the floor. Identity on both ends of the floor,” Daigneault said. “Getting our base system established, getting our terminology communicated and making sure that we’re all starting with a very clear baseline of how we want to play on both ends of the floor.”
In almost every year of Thunder existence, the play style, hierarchy and organizational structure and has been established before the season even began. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook helped form an identity for the team, and they were the two leads for the better part of a decade. When Durant left, the identity was Westbrook, with complementary players — and, in the case of Paul George, a fellow star — surrounding him. There was no question about who or what the team was.
Last year, even though there were questions about how good the team would be, the order of operations was still clear. Chris Paul and Steven Adams were leaders on and off the court. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was an exciting young player Oklahoma City felt comfortable enough in to put him in the starting lineup. Dennis Schroder was content as a sixth man.
Now, with an almost entirely new cast, even the players need to learn what the team is and stands for.
“This is an organization that has high standards for the team. When we laid out our high standards that’s been met with excitement from these guys,” Daigneault said Monday.
“Everybody had a good day today. It comes down to your ability to sustain it tomorrow, and the next day after and into the dead of February and March. To this point, the approach from the players, the engagement from the players has been outstanding.”
Much of the system is going to be the same from last season. For a normal offseason, that would mean a relatively simple training program, but with so many new players, most of the team doesn’t know last year’s style and intricacies.
“We’re keeping a decent amount of concepts from last year but obviously with a lot of new faces, it’s important that we take the time to teach what those concepts are,” veteran forward Mike Muscala said Monday. “A lot of time was spent doing that today.”
Of course, they played too. It wasn’t just lecturing. Back on the court after months off, they finally have a more organized setting for group play.
“It was really fun,” Muscala said. “Felt good to get up and down, started working on defensive concepts, and just to be out there playing with the guys … It felt good.”
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