Locker Room Problems Arise In Oklahoma City

Locker room problems? In Oklahoma City? Naaaah. No way. But yet, there are rumors that the Thunder might be having some issues, specifically between Russell Westbrook and Kendrick Perkins. The New York Daily News reports that while Perkins was brought in for his leadership and experience, he constantly went at Westbrook for not being enough of a playmaker and that he wasn’t close to Rajon Rondo in that regard. While it’s true that Westbrook isn’t the passer Rondo is, you’d think Perkins would have more appreciation for his point guard. Would the Thunder be better off with Rondo? We don’t think so. All in all, this should be a telling season for OKC. The step they’re trying to make – going from good to great – is so difficult. For every great young team that grows up together and then ultimately reap the benefits, there are dozens of others who fizzled out because of injuries, internal issues, etc. The truth is that Oklahoma City desperately needs Westbrook and his scoring. He has to be aggressive all the time because of the way they’re built. Hopefully Perkins and Westbrook can resolve their reported beef because this team is one of the feel good stories in the league (as well as maybe the most exciting team to watch) … Despite losing to Dallas last year, are the Thunder the favorites in the West? Or do you say they still need more time and take one of the older teams? … Kobe Bryant says he’s still considering playing overseas even after being unable to negotiate a deal with Besiktas earlier this summer. What would you rather have Kobe do? Lay low and rest (although with Bryant, you know he’s never really going to relax no matter what he’s doing)? Or play to keep his game in shape? He could use the rest, definitely, but at his age, too much rest isn’t a good thing … Here’s an interesting take on rebuilding the Pistons, who went from consistently excellent to dsyfunctional and terrible very quickly. Guys like Ben Gordon, Richard Hamilton and Charlie Villanueva haven’t fit in and you have to think Detroit plans to make some moves as they move forward. If you were running an NBA team, which of those three guys would you most want? … All of the Michael Beasley lovers out there fear not, his wrist is fine and he’s still playing. So those reports that he screwed it up pretty badly playing in China were bogus … And while Sebastian Telfair isn’t the player most thought he would be, he’s sure to find a team that wants him now that he’s a free agent. So what would you get if your team signed Bassy? This: “I bring myself. I bring Sebastian Telfair.” … We’re out like Beasley’s wrist injury.