West Notes: Thunder, Chet Holmgen, Nuggets, Warriors

Thunder

Former No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren is ready to roll with the Thunder after missing all of last season. And teammate Jalen Williams suggested Holmgren is looking good so far.

“It’s been fun. I think getting the reps with him has been special,” Williams said, via Clemente Almanza of Thunder Wire. “I know he’s excited to finally be back and we’re excited to have him. He brings a lot to the table.”

• Williams also spoke of his own offseason improvements. “I think I got better at picking my spots,” he said, via Almanza. “It’s been a big thing for me. You look at the most efficient NBA players now, they kinda know where they wanna be at on the floor.”

Nuggets

Second-year guard/forward Christian Braun knows he will be relied on to help replace Bruce Brown (now with Pacers), and Braun indicated he is ready to do his part, via an exclusive interview with Mark Medina of SportsSkeeda.

“I was fortunate enough to learn a lot from him and from KCP (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope),” Braun said. “I was fortunate enough to be around guys who are similar to me in a lot of ways. Bruce and I are similar in a lot of ways, but we’re also different. We bring different things to the court, whether it’s defensive intensity, transition scoring or being a pest. We’re similar, so I think I can fill that role pretty easily.

“Obviously, he’s a great player and did a lot of great things for us in big moments, too. So there is definitely some expanding to my game that I need to do. But with watching him and his effort every night, I think that’s a big reason why he was so good. That’s also something that I’m really good at, so I think I will fit into that role well.”

• Veteran wing Justin Holiday has reportedly looked good in practice so far. “My game is made for the way the Denver Nuggets play,” Holiday said, via Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports. “This organization is a championship-caliber organization. Obviously, they just won, but how they do things, what they expect from us, and that’s something I appreciate. After the organization, the players. No egos.”
• In case you missed it, coach Michael Malone said it’s not the Nuggets’ problem if the Lakers are still thinking about them “four months later.” You can read that full post here.

Warriors

The primary role for Chris Paul will be to generate offense when Stephen Curry needs a breather, per Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area.

That’s something coach Steve Kerr mentioned on media day.

“Even when we had (Kevin Durant) and that group that won back-to-back titles, our whole goal for the non-Steph minutes was to just put a great defensive team on the floor and win those minutes with defense,” Kerr said. “We’ve never really generated great offense with Steph on the bench. Chris will help us do that.”