Hoping to return to the NBA Finals this season, the Oklahoma City Thunder are already well into training camp practices this fall. With such high expectations, coach Scott Brooks is pushing his players particularly hard, but third-year center Cole Aldrich says that veterans like Nick Collison and Kendrick Perkins have made things easier.

As Aldrich tells Nick Gallo of NBA.com:

With Nick and Perk, those guys, especially being big guys, they expect a lot out of you. They make sure the intensity, the level of work is always high because they've been here, they've done it... It's all ears to them. Those are the guys you really listen to and you respect.

Gallo also speaks to guard Daequan Cook, who discusses how Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are emerging as leading voices in the locker room. Considering that Oklahoma City is a relatively young team to be aiming for championships, having leadership like that can be very influential.