Prior to Paul George’s trade request and reports of Russell Westbrook quietly expression his frustrations following the Oklahoma City Thunder’s third-straight first-round exit from the NBA Playoffs in as many years, Billy Donovan was losing head coaches like they were going out of style. Combine all those factors together and the easy conclusion to draw is Donovan is the problem. Of course, head coaches always seem to be the first to receive the blame.
Whether or not Donovan was actually the primary problem with last year’s team, he remains the head coach. So the new guys — Chris Paul, Danilo Gallinari, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Darius Bazley, Mike Muscala and Lu Dort — will have to deal with him. At least to start the year.
If there’s anyone Donovan has to mesh with among Oklahoma City’s new players, it’s Gilgeous-Alexander — assuming Donovan wants to keep his job. There are high expectations surrounding the 21-year-old and he’s going to have plenty of opportunities to thrive and fail in order to grow. Actually, Gilgeous-Alexander thinks Donovan will help him grow.
The two have spoken. While at a Rolling Thunder Book Bus event, Gilgeous-Alexander provided insight on their conversation, per Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman.
Really good. Built a pretty good relationship in the short amount of time we’ve known each other. He seems like a really honest and straightforward coach, and guys like that, I love playing for. Guys that aren’t going to sugarcoat it and tell you how it is so you can get better. I’m excited to play for him.
If nothing else, Gilgeous-Alexander has the right approach. So even if things don’t work out with Donovan, he’s still likely to gain something.
