One Last Shot For Current Oklahoma City Thunder Team

The Oklahoma City Thunder may find themselves on the outside looking in when the 2014-2015 NBA Playoffs begin this Saturday, but let’s be realistic, the team wasn’t going to make it very far anyway.

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Russell Westbrook may not be too happy about not qualifying for the postseason, but there isn’t anything he could do at this point, despite his monumental efforts.

The organization must now look to make its final run at a championship with this current roster.

If it weren’t for injuries to Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka, this would be a totally different story. The team would undoubtedly be preparing for the playoffs right now. And not only would they be preparing for the playoffs, they might be favorites in a deep Western Conference.

After the NBA Trade Deadline, this Thunder were the biggest winners, in my opinion. They were able to acquire quality depth for virtually nothing.

Apr 7, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Enes Kanter (34) drives to the basket against San Antonio Spurs center Aron Baynes (16) during the first quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

They were able to pick up Enes Kanter, who is one of the most well rounded young big-men in the league, D.J. Augustin, a guy who most teams would love as their back up point guard, along with Steve Novak and Kyle Singler. All that for a guy who didn’t want to be there anymore in Reggie Jackson, and a guy they didn’t want in Kendrick Perkins. Talk about a win-win situation.

They might have lost a first-round pick, but for a championship contending team, it doesn’t mean all that much.

At the end of the day, this team is built to compete for a title. Nothing else.

This was probably the best team they have had in the Kevin Durant/Westbrook era. Unfortunately, injuries decimated any championship aspirations they had this season.

It may be too late though.

It is no secret that Coach Scott Brooks‘ job is far from secure. And Westbrook has experienced so much success on his own that he may not want to play second fiddle anymore.

Coach Brooks may be on the hot seat, but one run with this team wouldn’t hurt. After all, next season they should be 100 percent healthy and they will even have a first round pick in the upcoming draft that could prove to be useful. I believe Brooks has done an excellent job as coach thus far. The team has been amongst the league’s elite for the last three or four seasons. He deserves one last shot, or at least until next season’s All-Star break.

Brooks’ position nor the team can be fairly judged. All they can look at is what they were able to accomplish while they were short handed.

Westbrook would take the playoffs over a scoring title and day of the week, but he should be proud of his efforts down the stretch of the season.

Westbrook’s 28.1 points per game average was just enough to edge out James Harden‘s 27.4 PPG for the scoring title. Even KD knows how lucky he is to have Russ on his side.

Sheesh this guy is ridiculous lol.
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) April 16, 2015

This team clearly has potential to do something special. The problem is they may not have too many more opportunities to do it with this current team.

No team stays together for ever. Winning games isn’t the only factor that could take a team apart. Money and egos are always a factor as well. Could this team be the one to overcome those things? We will have to wait and see.

If not, the end of this team’s era may have already come to an end.

Next: NBA Awards Watch: Final MVP Pick For 2014-15

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