It had seemed like Damian was going to encourage an annual San Diego trip. Nothing mentioned this year. My guess is Nurkic couldn't make it and the team didn't want him to feel left out. Any non speculative answers?
With the season starting 10 days earlier this year, they probably felt they couldn't squeeze in a trip and why rush it. I'm fine with them all showing up and bonding at the practice facility and if they want to have dinner together, that's great, too. The only new guys they need to bond with are Nurk and the two rookies. Nurk already seemed to bond with Dame (especially) and C.J. in the short time he spent as their teammate last spring. Swanigan's motor and work ethic makes chemistry less important. He's going to be going balls to the wall every minute he's on the floor regardless of who his teammates are. It's a LONG season, and for a rookie like Collins, who won't get a lot of PT, especially early in the season, it's more important for some of the older guys to take him under their wings and keep his morale up and make sure he feels connected to the team even if he's not playing a lot. Dame has always been good at this, but even a guy like Ed Davis or Pat Connaughton can help out here. Pat isn't that old himself, and hasn't played a lot of minutes his first two seasons, but even when he's not playing, he seems like he's really into the teams' success and stays connected to his teammates. That's a good example for Collins. Work hard in practice, listen to your coaches (especially your big man coach...), stay engaged and connected to your teammates. BNM
You don't think they will have video in the future? Do you expect WW3 and the rise of the ants to the top of the food chain? Rookies.
