Now, stay with me here.  I know the guy is an all-star.  I know he's one of the "10 best players in the league" yada yada yada.  OK, that's great, but the guy just rubs me the wrong way.  Tonight he goes 0-13 with 7 turnovers.  That's just one game, you say, and besides the Thunder won anyway.  Yes, the Thunder did win anyway, but it was no thanks to #0.  That makes a perfect three straight games of 7 turnovers in each.  That is flat out unacceptable.  The guy just can't seem to grasp the concept of playing the PG position and tries to force it even when he is clearly having an off night.  He hasn't made a bucket all night and Durant can't miss.  What does Westbrook do with time winding down and the Grizzlies within striking distance?  He does his patent dribbling out the shot clock and sends up a horrible one handed fade-away that never has a chance.  I just don't understand how someone can be so selfish.

Am I being too hard on Westbrook?  Maybe.  But I'd just assume make a deal suggested by my partner in crime, TheMayor, and make a move for Dwight Howard.  Send Westbrook, Perkins, and a first rounder and I don't see how Orlando can say no.  I'd much rather have Maynor distributing to KD and Harden with Howard cleaning up everything that rims out.

On the brighter side of things, Durant has already started off the season with MVP-like numbers dropping 30+ in every game thus far and averaging less than 3 turnovers and 5 rebounds.  Durant has come through big in the clutch in close games vs Memphis and Minnesota.  #35 is the star of this team, not Westbrook.  I was hopeful Westbrook had taken some of the criticism from last season to heart and tried to work on honing his game as a true PG during the extended offseason, but it is clear that Russell will be Russell no matter how many detractors come his way.  Brooks refuses to put a tighter leash on Westbrook in fear of pushing him away and having his PG turn against him with only a year left on his contract.

The Thunder are 3-0, but it is not because of Westbrook.  The Thunder are 3-0 because of the superior play from Durant, Harden, Ibaka, Perkins and crew.  Harden has continued to thrive coming off the bench playing possibly even better ball than last season.  Serge has had a bit of a slow start, but is still fulfilling his role on the team.  Perkins came into the season in the best shape of his life and finally with a healthy knee and boy does it show.  Perkins has been a huge boost down low thus far and I am very impressed with his transformation from last season.

Westbrook is heaving up almost the same number of shots per game as Durant, yet connecting on roughly half of the shots that Durant is downing.  Something needs to change.  This team is good, but not good enough to continue to cover for #0 all season long with any hopes of a title coming to OKC.  I don't think he will ever change though and I don't think the Thunder will ever be able to get over the hump with him at the reigns.  I hope I'm wrong, but I wouldn't bet on it.

The first is quite simple, get Westbrook to sign his extension before the trading deadline. Most fans will be quite happy with having one of the best emerging point guards in the game. He’s young, quick, still learning the position, and has gotten better every year he’s been in the league. Westbrook is just beginning to scratch the surface on his potential. GM Sam Presti and the rest of the staff need some time to look over the new CBA and get everything squared away. That’s fine. Westbrook seems to want to stay in OKC, even after his contract ends, and there are not many teams he could go to via free agency, make max dollars, and still compete for championships.

The other way the Thunder can respond is to trade him. With CP3 off the trading block, the only real option is New Jersey’s Deron Williams. Williams has indicated that he will not sign an extension unless the team can become more competitive. The only real way that happens is if the Nets can get Dwight Howard, who is off the trading block… for now. If New Jersey fails to get him, the Nets and Thunder could exchange point guards (plus a player(s)/draft picks). The Nets win by having a new fresh face of the franchise to go with the rest of their young talent and OKC wins by having arguably the best point guard in the game. If you’re Williams, you get to play with the two-time scoring champ in K.D., great atmosphere in Loud City, and a chance to start winning now. New Jersey does not offer any of those things nor could any other city offer him a chance to play on a contender NOW.

The team is still quite young and growing. I believe they will eventually get to championship contender status soon, possibly this season or next. The Lakers, Dallas, San Antonio, are getting old, and fast. Their window of opportunity is closing rather quickly. The Western Conference will soon be controlled by young teams like the Thunder, Clippers, and don’t sleep on Memphis or the Timberwolves either.

With the season now being broken down into just 66 games and numerous back to backs being played, this schedule falls right into the strengths of a young Thunder squad. While older teams may experience some issues with the sheer amount of back to back games, the Thunder should be just fine with their young legs.  Until the free agent market clears up and we know which big time players will be playing where, it's going to be hard to break down the Thunder's main competition in the West.

Instead, let's focus on what the Thunder have and how they can build on last season's success.  Obviously having one of the best players in the league in Kevin Durant immediately makes any team forced to be taken seriously.  Throw in another all-star in Russell Westbrook and you've got a team that is a legit title contender.  The fact that both of these all-star players are only 23 years old is almost mind boggling.  They have yet to hit their prime years.  Now, if you regularly follow the Thunder then I'm not telling you anything you don't already know.  But what pieces do Durant and Westbrook have around them to fill out a true title contending team?

The addition of Kendrick Perkins last season didn't exactly take off like most fans had hoped for.  While Perk was hobbled for the majority of the year, he failed to really impress many.  This year there will be no excuses and Perkins has got to be that force in the center of the lane making players think twice before slashing to the hoop.  Serge Ibaka came on strong last season and really established himself as not only a premier defensive player leading the team in blocks, but also finding his rhythm with a mid range jumper.

The emergence of James Harden last season was a huge boost.  Harden spent the majority of last season coming off the bench and filling that offensive void left in the second unit, but is expected to be inserted into the starting line up this year.  Daequan Cook, who just signed a new 2 year deal with the Thunder, also spaces the floor out nicely for the second unit with his 3 point sharp shooting.  Add in Collison and Maynor and you've got a second team that can play with nearly any starting unit in the league.

The Thunder were one of the few teams in the league with no real glaring weaknesses coming into the season and not needing to really make any offseason moves.  This is a team that will only continue to grow and mature so long as Presti can find a way to keep the core together.  Last season was a year in which this young squad did a lot of growing up and took that next step from "could be in a few years" to a real threat right here and now.  OKC opened a lot of eyes around the league last season and have been either rewarded or punished (depending on your outlook) with being paired up with nearly all of the league's elite teams in the condensed schedule this year.  Clearly the big wigs behind the scenes believe the Thunder are for real and are giving them prime time games to get maximum exposure.  Now it's just up to the Thunder to continue doing what they've been doing.

If this team continues to grow and excel at the rate they have been then it could spell trouble for a number of years to come for Western conference foes and the league's elite.  I believe the true test will be to see how Westbrook responds to all the criticism he took during the post season last year and if he will finally be able to find his own while still incorporating the rest of the team.  If Westbrook begins to distribute the ball like a true PG while keeping his cool, there is no telling how far this young team can go.