GM Sam Presti is making a terrific job in the last couple of years in turning the Thunder into a decent and respectable team through the draft, while preserving cap space. Patient is a virtue and he didn't freak out last season, when the young Thunder team started the season with a 3-29 record and the media started talking about the Thunder being the worst NBA team ever. Presti replaced P.J. Carlesimo with the assistant coach Scott Brooks and the Thunder ended the season with a "respectable" 20-30 record and the Kings, the Clippers and the Wizards ending up with a worse record than the Thunder.

This season will be a pivotal season for the organization, as everyone expects them to give a big step in the consolidation. Some experts are already saying that they will have a shot for a spot in the playoffs and although they have the talent to achieve that, there are other intangibles that the Thunder still lack and they will need a huge improvement in those areas before being close to be a top team.

Kevin Durant is the natural leader of this franchise and probably he is months ago to earn his first All Star selection. In his second season, he averaged 25.3 points per game - 6th in the league, while shooting 47.6 from the field. He improved his rebounding numbers by posting 6.5 rebounds per game and also increased his three-point shooting percentage from 28.8% in 07-08 to 42.2% last year. Eventually he will be the scoring champ in the NBA in the future, but in order to help his team to take the next step, he needs to improve his playmaker's ability and also in the defensive end of the floor. We cannot ignore the fact that last season, he ended with more turnovers than assists. In 156 games of his short career, he averaged 2.6 assists per game, but 3.0 turnovers per contest at the same time! He constantly suffers double team coverages from his opponents and he needs to start finding the open team mate with regularity! That's what the franchise's players do and Durant is yet to show this ability. Also Durant needs to be a better overall defender and with his incredible wingspan and length it's a shame that he has averaged just 0.8 blocks per game last season and also with his quickness for a Small Forward, he should rise his 1.3 steals per game mark. If Durant improves both his playmaker ability and his defense, then the Thunder won't surely be far from winning 40 games, but if that doesn't happen, the Thunder will struggle in the bottom once again.    

The key for the Thunder to raise their heads after a dismal 3-29 start was the decision of Head Coach Scott Brooks to give PG Russell Westbrook the starting job. Westbrook had an inconsistent season (which was pretty natural because we are talking about a rookie), but his upside is terrific with aggressive defensive skills and a freakish athleticism that enables him to slash and score at any given point. He ended the season with solid numbers: 15.3 ppg, 5.3 assists, and 1.3 steals. During the month of February, he averaged 20.6 points per game, 6.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game. Unlike Kevin Durant, Westbrook is extremely aggressive in both ends of the court, but like Durant, he really needs to improve his playmaker's decisions. This could be more problematic because after all, we are talking about the Point Guard position. Westbrook ended the season with 3.3 turnovers per game - 5th worst of the league for a poor A/ratio of 1.59. He was one of the reasons for the Thunder to be the worst NBA team with 15.5 Turnovers per game. Like Durant, the Thunder need Westbrook to improve dramatically his playmaker ability and this won't be hard to come, as after all he was only a rookie last season. However, during this Summer league he led the league in...Turnovers.

Another key piece of this organization is forward Jeff Green and last season, Green made some remarkable improvements in each areas, when compared to his rookie season. He raised his scoring numbers from 10.5 ppg to 16.5 ppg last year. He also improved his FG%, 3pts % and also his FT's % in a clear sign of pure development. Green also improved his rebounding ability by grabbing 6.6 rebounds per game, but how tough Green can be on the floor? Let's not forget that he is 6-9 and 235 lbs and plays at...Power Forward! To make things harder for him, just look for the Thunder's divisional opponents. Green will matchup against LaMarcus Aldridge, Carlos Boozer, Kenyon Martin and Al Jefferson and all those guys are taller or larger than Green.

This problem caused by Green's lack of size and aggressiveness down the post is problematic for the Thunder, because they don't have a powerful player down low. Nenad Krstic, Nick Collison and Etan Thomas will compete for a position in the frontcourt and none of them is a natural physical "freak" force and none are reliable offensive weapons inside the paint. Krstic returned after having playing overseas and had significant minutes last season, but he failed to match his production from the 2006-07 season with the Nets, in which he averaged 16.4 points and 6.8 rebounds, while shooting 53 percent from the floor. He played 46 games and let's see if his back can be durable for a long 82-games season. Nick Collison saw his rebounding total dropped significantly last season to "just" 6.8 rpg. In the previous season, Collison had grabbed 9.4 boards per game. He is a good backup and one of the few Thunder' players that can bring some hustle and aggressiveness to a "soft defense". The Thunder must live with the fact that easy points won't come often for them, as they lack a reliable threat down the post.

For the shooting guard position, GM Sam Presti drafted as the third overall pick, James Harden, who looks to be another terrific offensive option for the Thunder. At Arizona State, he averaged 20.1 points per game, while shooting 48.9 % from the field. He is also a nice 3pt shooter (37.6% in three-point shooting) and his skills are often compared to Manu Ginobili. He is a terrific finisher around the basket and I wouldn't be surprised if the Thunder finish this season being inside the top 5 in Free Throws attempts. He will compete with Sefolosha for the starting SG position and Sefolosha is a completely different player. In Harden we look at his offense. In Sefolosha, we look at his defense. Playing in only 23 games last season for the Thunder, Sefolosha led the team in blocks (1.13) and steals (1.74) and he is a good role player for the team.

The Thunder don't have a lot of depth in their bench. PG Shaun Livingston is battling for an opportunity since his awful injury; Kevin Ollie at the age of 37 is playing his final (?) season of his career; Center Etan Thomas is struggling after a critical hearth operation and only Harden and Collison will be serviceable backups. GM Sam Presti is assuming that the having young players will prevent them to have critical injuries because they really have a short rotation, but even the young guys suffer painful injuries and the Thunder can't really afford that to happen with such a poor bench.

We are talking about a well managed franchise which is going through the right direction, however they should take one step at a time. All the important pieces of this organization need to improve and this includes their head coach Scott Brooks, who is still in a learning curve in his new role. This team lacks depth on their bench and they need to work offensively in the same page. They also lack a big player that can be an offensive force and a threat down low. Yes, they have some unbelievable talent to begin with, but there are so many 'ifs' that will prevent them to be at the top, but maybe in 2 or 3 seasons from now, another story will be told.