Royce Young (ESPN) on Carmelo Anthony being okay with playing the power forward position: “No, he’s going to start the power forward spot for us,” Donovan said. “That’s what he’s going to do.” Anthony has played the majority of his career as a small forward, but with Paul George already slotted into that position, the 10-time All-Star said he’s ready and willing to slide down a position in the Thunder’s starting five.”

Gideon Lim (Thunderous Intentions) on the perfect playbook for Carmelo Anthony: “Ten years ago, the NBA saw its first inorganic coalition of superstars – the Boston Celtics’ Big 3 of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and homeboy Paul Pierce. Under the guidance of Doc Rivers, the Celtics found a way to rack up wins while keeping their alpha-male small forward happy. Sound enticing? Billy Donovan has probably spent the last 48 hours devising a system where Carmelo Anthony can pummel opponents for points without killing ball movement.”

Former Thunder player (and current Knicks player) Lance Thomas writes a thank you letter to Carmelo Anthony: “It was a dream, of course, being in New York and being on the same team as you. But I also knew it would probably all be very temporary. I did everything I could — in every minute of practice and every second of floor time I got — in order to stick around. I was vocal, I was physical and I just tried to play my heart out. And you noticed. You didn’t have to — I was a nobody. Guys on 10-days come through all the time. You had no reason or obligation to look at me twice, because I might have been gone the next day anyhow. But you noticed how hard I was working and you encouraged me to keep grinding. Yeah, we both grew up Knicks fans with Brooklyn roots, but that wasn’t why we clicked. It didn’t have to do with skills, either. The reason we identified with one another, I think, was that we both approached the game of basketball in a similar way.”

I like John Kasich, but he really needs to stick to politics: “Ohio Gov. John Kasich says OKC adding Carmelo Anthony ain’t enough to win a title … saying the Thunder needs to make one more acquisition to compete, another basketball. FYI — ‘Melo shoots a lot. We got Kasich — a huge hoops fan — out in NYC and asked him what he thought about the Thunder adding Anthony to a team that already has Russell Westbrook and Paul George.”

Cliff Brunt (Associated Press) on Sam Presti’s necessary evolution: “The league is in transition, but that’s what happens all the time,” Presti said. “The league is always changing. The rules are always changing. There’s so many different dynamics and forces at work that drive a lot of these different things. All I can tell you is the way we’ve always looked at it is, our job is to take the circumstances, try to understand them the best we can, and try to work as hard as we can to put the team in position to have a chance to contend and a chance to continue to grow.”

Some news and notes from the first day of training camp.

Russell Westbrook is the king of fantasy basketball: “In Roto, it’s about the versatility in the early rounds, and what better way to check all the boxes than with Mr. Triple-Double? Based on Player Rater value, Westbrook finished inside the top 12 players in six of eight categories last season, and while the additions of George and Anthony might regress his usage a touch, you’re still looking at an historically involved player. It’s possible the counting stats come back to earth in 2017-18, but I’d speculate that any impact felt by fantasy owners in that regard is offset by an increase in efficiency. I’m all-in on waiting for point guards … if you pick at any spot but first overall.”

Getting to know the Thunder’s training camp invites.

The Pacers’ handling of Danny Granger had an effect on Paul George: “I just want to touch on, man, on my situation. I’ve seen a guy that played for that (Pacers) organization, gave that organization everything they had, or everything he had, and was essentially traded to the dogs. And I’m speaking on Danny Granger, who was one of the better players in Pacers history. And at the time, they traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers. And this was a guy that was battling injuries, and that’s where you send him? The guy is trying to get back on his feet, trying to work back to this league, (and) you send him to the Philadelphia Sixers? Why, because that makes you better? Do what’s right by the player that’s given you everything. So (there) was a lot of that in my seven years there, a lot of that kind of played a role and (took) a toll on me on, ‘Well, what will they do to me now? Like, where would I go?’ So you know, it was, I think, God had me in this situation.”

Thunder players talk about the political climate of the country and of the sports world.

Fred Katz (Norman Transcript) takes on the first day of training camp and looks at Steven Adams’ ability to punch teammates: “They’re top blokes, man. That’s what comes first,” Adams said. “That’s what comes first, and then the player, whatever they do, it’s like, ah yeah, whatever. Because you have your on-court persona, and then you have the off-court. But if your off-court is good, then you’re a good guy, then you can do whatever on-court. “You can punch one of your teammates in the face, man. That’s OK with me, man. You’re good, still good in my book.”