Oklahoma City Thunder's Keys to a Brighter Future

The Oklahoma City Thunder is a franchise that moved from Seattle to start over.

Not only are they starting over with a new fan base in a new city, but they have a great core of young talent and a plethora of draft picks, and salary.

The core young players I referred to earlier are:

Kevin Durant, the team's very own superstar in the making—currently fourth in the NBA in scoring.

Russell Westbrook—point guard, and floor leader, also a leader for Rookie of the Year honors this year. The kid is a rising star, who can rise well above the rim to throw down.

The last of the "young three" is Jeff Green, who was drafted in the same class as Durant two years ago at number five to Boston, then later traded to OKC for Ray Allen. Green is a power forward who can fill up the scoring sheet, and is in the top 50 in the NBA in rebounding.

All three of these young stars are signed on at least past the 2012 season, all for under $8 million. When you have your core of building blocks all signed on for a bargain, this leaves cap space to go out a pursue the free-agent market, and with the summers ahead this will prove to be vital for their emergence.

Drafting will be very important for the Thunder to make the transition from bottom of the barrel to a playoff team, and a competitor for the future. With 5 picks, 3 in the first round in the next two drafts, the Thunder will have ample chances to take what they need from the NCAA and also make some moves.

First of all, before I get to the plan, I'm going to break down the team and who is on it, who is leaving and who should stay or who should go.

Their starting five is Russell Westbrook at the point, Desmond Mason/Kyle Weaver at the two-guard, Kevin Durant as small forward, Jeff Green as power forward and Nenad Kristic as their starting center.

It seems obvious that they lack a quality center, which is needed with all the trees in the West, and also are in dire need of a starting shooting guard. Which one is more important?

In my opinion it is the center spot, considering there will be ample shooting guards to pick up in the 2009 FA market.

According to ESPN.com, their offensive efficiency is in the bottom three in the league and their defensive efficiency is ranked 23rd overall. This not only means that they need to step it up on both ends, but mostly that they are not experienced and lack chemistry.

Although surprisingly, the Thunder are a top rebounding team in the league, ranked seventh overall in total rebounds per game. They are also in the top 10 in defensive rebounding and in the top five for offensive rebounds.

If they can supply a solid big man down low, this team will be able to control the paint with rebounding and be able to plug the lane with an athletic body.

This year the Thunder have a top-three projected pick. You can never be too sure with the lottery, but for odds sake, we will give them a top-three pick.

Hasheem Thabeet, 7'3'' center from the University of Connecticut is a perfect fit for the Thunder to select with their first-round pick. Thabeet is an above-average runner of the court who does a great job of getting initial post position by using his body wide and sealing off his defender

Thabeet is an absolute beast in the paint. He rebounds the ball on both ends of the floor and has a strict no-fly-zone in effect.

The Thunder also have the San Antonio Spurs' projected 26th-overall pick in the 2009 draft. With that pick and a little bit of luck, the Thunder could steal Tyler Hansbrough out of UNC.

Hansbrough has been slept on by everyone in the country, but with his big body and work ethic he would make a great back up for already young star Jeff Green.

With their final pick in 2009, it might be wise to take a gamble on another seven-footer, Jerome Jordan out of Tulsa. The kid needs some work but has potential to be an NBA pro.

With the 2009 Draft out of the way, the Thunder need to say bye-bye to some players. How about everyone eligible to leave, which includes Damien Wilkins, Desmond Mason, Malik Rose, Joe Smith, and Robert Swift.

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