ESPN recently ran a piece where it asked TrueHoop bloggers whether or not Orlando, New Jersey, New Orleans and Phoenix should trade their star players this offseason. I thought I’d chime in with my own thoughts:

Dwight Howard

This has to be a gut call from GM Otis Smith — he knows Howard better than any member of the media and if he believes his superstar wants to stay, then he should do everything in his power to make it happen. Only I don’t know how he gets the Magic back in the fold as a true contender given the available pieces he has to move. There has been one personnel mistake after another since Orlando’s appearance in the 2009 Finals. Just like Chris Bosh and LeBron James, the writing is on the wall, isn’t it? Dwight Howard is leaving, and if Smith can acquire someone with the upside of Andrew Bynum in the process, that might be the Magic’s best bet to jump start the rebuilding process.

Deron Williams

Of course the Nets should hold onto Williams. He’s a franchise point guard and with Brook Lopez in tow and a load of cap space, the soon-to-be Brooklyn Whatevers are poised to make a big jump in the standings. Mikhail Prokhorov’s management team has done a nice job thus far, though I have no idea why they gave Travis Outlaw $7 million a year. Without that albatross of a contract, the Nets would be even better position to make a splash in free agency and surround Williams with the wings that he needs to be successful.

Chris Paul

This is a unique situation, what with the NBA owning the Hornets and all. One of ESPN’s bloggers said the “fair” thing to do is let CP3 walk, but that’s not the best move for the franchise. I think they should offer Paul for Russell Westbrook straight up. That may not be the first step on the road to a championship, but it’s probably the best deal the Hornets will get. Plus, no one will look at Westbrook funny when he takes 30 shots and turns the ball over six times per game. (Or how about Paul for Eric Gordon? New Orleans needs a good young star to build around.) Bottom line? I don’t think there’s much of a chance of Paul re-upping after the season, so New Orleans should get as much in return as possible while they still can.

Steve Nash

Forget all this talk about Nash retiring a Sun. That can’t be what’s most important to him. He must want to taste the Conference Finals again, so Phoenix should trade him to a playoff team that can offer draft picks and/or a good young player in return. What’s the point in letting Nash’s career die a slow death on a team that’s going nowhere? Stop being selfish, Phoenix Suns. Free Steve Nash.

In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve been waiting to write this piece for the last couple of weeks. With the way that the Thunder had been closing games, I knew it was just a matter of time before they’d be eliminated from the Playoffs and I have been thinking about the different directions that the franchise can go from here.

After watching both the Memphis and Dallas series, I have come to this conclusion: Oklahoma City can not win a title with Russell Westbrook at the point.

It’s not that he’s not a good player. He is. He’s just not a point guard. People say that he has come a long way in his three seasons, but he sure didn’t show it in the last two series. Take a look at his numbers in the fourth quarter (and overtime) of all the games against Dallas and Memphis:

Westbrook was benched for one fourth quarter against the Mavs, so he played four 4th quarters and one overtime against Dallas. I threw out Game 5 against the Grizzlies because it wasn’t close in the 4th quarter, and I’m interested in how he plays with the game on the line. In total, he played six 4th quarters and four overtimes against Memphis. That adds up to 145 potential minutes and Westbrook played a majority of them. That many minutes converts to three full games (145/48 = 3.02), so I divided his totals by three to give us a rough idea of what his per game averages would have been if we only counted his 4th quarter and overtime numbers.

His totals (27.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists) are fairly impressive, but his shooting percentages (37% 2P, 22% 3P) are not. He did do a great job of getting to the line (12.3) and made them when he got there, at least against the Grizzlies. He turned the ball over at an extraordinary rate (7.3 per “game”). His assist-to-turnover ratio (0.59) was absolutely brutal. To put this in perspective, a ratio of 2.5 is average for a point guard, while the best ones are usually over 3.0.

He’s not a point guard. This much is clear. In his career, he has played 269 games at the position and proved against the Grizzlies and the Mavs that he’s not consistently able to be the floor general that a championship-caliber team needs.

So what does OKC do with him? The way I see it, they have two options:

1. Move him to off guard.
He’s a little undersized at 6’3″, but with his long arms and athletic ability, he could defend most opposing shooting guards. Also, for a “shooting” guard, he’s not a very good shooter (33% 3P on the season), but Dwyane Wade isn’t very accurate from distance and he makes it work.

In my mind, Westbrook’s best way forward is to follow in Wade’s shoes. Wade isn’t a point guard either, and he has figured out a way to play off guard even though he’s a little undersized.

The problem with moving Westbrook to the ‘two’ is that it’s going to impact James Harden, who is a prototypical off guard. Harden would either stay on the bench (he’s too good for that) or he would have to play small forward, where he would be undersized. That would push Durant to the ‘four’ and he’s not strong enough right now to play power forward on a consistent basis.

This leads me to option 2 for Westbrook…

2. Trade him.
If I were GM Sam Presti, I’d get the Hornets on the line and see if they’d be willing to give up Chris Paul for Westbrook. The Hornets may be feeling the pressure to do something with Paul since he’s entering the final year of his contract and may be on his way out of town. If they don’t trade him and he signs elsewhere, it would be disastrous. It’s very tough to get equal value for a superstar, but with all his flaws, Westbrook is an All-Star and All-NBA performer who could make a killing as an off guard on the right team. Perhaps New Orleans would go for a package that would include Westbrook, Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson’s expiring contract. (See it in the ESPN Trade Machine.)

If the Hornets decline to trade Paul, then I’d ring up the Nets and see if they would do the same deal for Deron Williams, who is in a similar position (contract-wise) as Paul. Both the Hornets and Nets have to feel the pressure with these two point guards, and if the Thunder played the two teams off of each other, I bet someone would bite.

Imagine a lineup of Paul (or Williams), Harden, Durant, Collison and Ibaka for the next five years! I have no inside info, but I suspect both Paul and Williams would love to join the Thunder simply because they’ll have a chance to contend for a title for the next several years. And don’t forget that Paul is familiar with OKC since the Hornets played there (and drew great crowds) while New Orleans was recovering from Hurricane Katrina.

Obviously, Westbrook would have to agree to an extension as part of the trade, as would Paul/Williams. Both sides will need to come away from the trade with the peace of mind that their new star is locked up for the long term.

Is a Westbrook trade going to happen? Probably not, but that’s the direction I would go if I were in charge. The current makeup of the roster cannot accommodate his move to off guard and there’s no one to take over the point even if he did. (Eric Maynor is a solid backup, but he’s just that…a backup.) A trade would bring in an impact point guard and free up all those minutes for Harden at the two.

After a Kevin Durant three-pointer with 5:05 to play in regulation, the Thunder led 99-84 and looked destined to tie the series up. But somehow they ended up in overtime — how did that happen?

It was a combination of two factors: 1) Dirk Nowitzki took over offensively for the Mavs, and 2) the Thunder had several poor possessions down the stretch.

Take a look at the Mavs’ final 10 possessions:

4:48 Shawn Marion makes two free throws
4:33 Dirk Nowitzki makes 1 of 2 free throws
4:09 Dirk Nowitzki turnover
3:48 Jason Kidd makes two free throws
3:15 Dirk Nowitzki makes 13-foot jumper
2:11 Dirk Nowitzki makes 24-foot three point jumper (Jason Kidd assists)
2:00 Dirk Nowitzki makes 14-foot jumper
1:25 Dirk Nowitzki makes 5-foot two point shot
0:39 Shawn Marion makes 1 of 2 free throws
0:06 Dirk Nowitzki makes two free throws

That’s 17 points on 10 possessions, or 1.7 points per possession, which is outstanding.

Now, the Thunder’s final possessions:

5:07 Russell Westbrook misses 25-foot three point jumper
4:33 Serge Ibaka misses 6-foot jumper
4:20 Russell Westbrook misses 17-foot jumper
3:48 Russell Westbrook lost ball (Jason Kidd steals)
3:32 Kevin Durant misses 22-foot jumper
2:49 Kevin Durant misses 25-foot three point jumper
2:32 Russell Westbrook makes two point shot
2:11 Russell Westbrook misses two free throws
1:38 Russell Westbrook misses 15-foot jumper
1:07 Kevin Durant lost ball (Shawn Marion steals)
0:40 Russell Westbrook misses 16-foot jumper
0:20 Thabo Sefolosha misses 23-foot three point jumper
0:01 Shawn Marion blocks Kevin Durant’s 30-foot three point jumper

That’s two points on the Thunder’s final 13 possessions, or 0.2 points per possession. They went 1-for-11 from the field with two turnovers. Westbrook went 1-for-6 with a turnover and zero assists in the final 5:07. OKC was just unable to get good shots when the Mavs tightened up the defense in crunch time. Durant was getting pushed around while Westbrook was doing his usual dribble-around-and-fire-up-a-shot act.

Overtime was more of the same for OKC. Take a look:

4:26 Kevin Durant misses 24-foot three point jumper
3:54 Thabo Sefolosha makes jumper (Kevin Durant assists)
2:51 Russell Westbrook misses 25-foot three point jumper
2:31 Russell Westbrook step out of bounds turnover
1:54 Serge Ibaka makes 17-foot jumper (Russell Westbrook assists)
1:01 Kevin Durant lost ball (Jason Kidd steals)
0:26 Russell Westbrook misses 5-foot running jumper
0:09 Kevin Durant misses 24-foot three point jumper
0:01 Kevin Durant misses 25-foot three point jumper

Over the final 10 minutes, Russell Westbrook went 1-for-8 with two turnovers and an assist. The turnover in overtime was inexplicable. The ball was tapped back on the Mavs’ end of the court and it hit Jason Terry’s hand as it headed over towards the Dallas bench. Westbrook should have let the ball go, but instead tried to save it. It’s what I like to call “dumb hustle.”

It’s no surprise that Westbrook struggled down the stretch; it has been a common theme in these Playoffs. But Durant was pretty awful too. Here’s his line for the final 10 minutes: 0-for-6 from the field (0-5 3PT), one assist and two turnovers. Combined, the Thunder’s two stars went 1-for-14 from the field with four turnovers and two assists.

And that’s how you blow a 15-point lead with five minutes to play, only to lose in overtime. In total, they were outscored 28-6 over the final 10 minutes.

The NY Daily News has a quote from an unnamed Thunder vet that is bound to stir up some controversy.

As one Thunder veteran said, privately, “He thinks he’s better than Kevin Durant.”

Not only that, but Westbrook has the backing of Thunder GM Sam Presti, who made a name for himself with his drafting of Westbrook with the fourth pick in 2008. Presti’s micromanagement behind the scenes has caused some friction between the head of the front office and his coaches, but Brooks didn’t pay any attention to that when he saw that Maynor was his best option to even the series.

Who is this veteran? And why is he dropping nuggets like this while the Thunder are in the middle of a knock-down, drag-out playoff series with the Mavs? Perhaps it’s a former player, not someone currently on the roster.

The thing that interests me about this story is the take of CBS writer Royce Young, who had this to say about Westbrook’s belief in his ability.

But when you’re an All-Star, a second-team All-NBA player that’s as confident in yourself as Westbrook, would you really not think you’re better than Durant. Not us in the general public here. We all know Durant is better. In terms of Westbrook, is it really so bad to think that? In fact, isn’t it probably a good thing?

No, it’s not a good thing. The best teams usually have players that know their roles. Pau Gasol doesn’t think he’s better than Kobe, and Kevin Garnett doesn’t think he should be shooting the ball instead of Paul Pierce. The last really great team to have a pecking order issue was the Shaq/Kobe-era Lakers, and look what happened to them. When Kobe accepted his role, the duo was able to win three straight titles. As soon as he started to try to take over alpha dog status, they crashed and burned in the Finals against a much more cohesive Detroit Pistons team.

If Westbrook does in fact think he’s better than Durant, then there’s trouble brewing in OKC. This isn’t the case of a young upstart trying to take the mantle from an established vet. These are two young players that will be playing with each other for a while, and if Westbrook can’t accept his role as second fiddle, then there are going to be problems down the line.

Scratch that — there might be problems right now.

For the first half of the fourth quarter, Russell Wesbrook was playing well. He went 2-for-3 from the field, hit a pair of free throws, and had one assist. His play helped the Thunder cut the Mavs’ lead from 12 points to eight, giving OKC a shot to win the game going down the stretch.

But starting at the six-minute mark, Westbrook was pretty dreadful. He went 1-for-5 from the field, 1-for-2 from the free throw line and turned the ball over twice. That’s just four points on those eight possessions.

Is it fair to focus solely on Westbrook? No, there’s enough blame to go around for the Thunder. OKC shot 36% from the field. Kevin Durant was 7-of-22 from the field and 0-for-8 from long range. In fact, if it wasn’t for Westbrook’s made three in the final moments, the Thunder would have set a record for most three pointers attempted without a make. (They finished 1-for-17 from long range.) Westbrook was the Thunder’s most effective player — he finished with 30 points and four assists, but he also had seven turnovers.

Dirk Nowitzki struggled for most of the game, but came on down the stretch. He had 10 points in the final 7:22 and dealt with the physical play of Nick Collison pretty well. These Mavs continue to show great resiliency.

Last night, Thunder head coach Scott Brooks took Westbrook out of the game with 0:28 remaining in the third quarter. He had just turned the ball over and committed a foul, giving the Mavs two free throws. Brooks exchanged words with Westbrook as he came to the bench, and Westbrook even stopped and turned to say something extra to his coach. For the next couple of minutes, he could be seen talking to no one in particular on the bench and he looked none too happy about taking a seat.

Brooks stuck with Eric Maynor for the entire fourth quarter and the Thunder went on to win 106-100. In the final period, Maynor went 2-for-3 from the field (four points), with one assist and one rebound. He did contribute to one turnover, a shot clock violation, but otherwise took care of the ball and got OKC into its offense. It wasn’t so much about Maynor’s numbers as it was about how the unit (Maynor-Daequan Cook-James Harden-Kevin Durant-Nick Collison) was clicking.

Brooks has finished games with Maynor in the past, but it’s rare, and I don’t remember it happening in the playoffs. It’s not uncommon for coaches to go with a bench player over a starter if the bench player has it going, but it’s not common for a coach to bench an All-Star for the entire fourth quarter of a playoff game.

But that’s where Westbrook’s game is at this point. He has been up-and-down, especially in crunch time. Brooks never knows what he’s going to get from his “point guard.” (I put that in quotes because Westbrook really isn’t a point guard, he’s just the de facto point guard for the Thunder.) I’ve railed on his game throughout the postseason. The Thunder aren’t still playing because of him — they’re still playing despite him. For every one of his sublime games, like his 14-assist triple-double against the Grizzlies in Game 7, he has two or three clunkers where he turns the ball over repeatedly and jacks up sketchy shots in the clutch.

For his part, he did congratulate his teammates during the fourth quarter and seemed relatively involved in the game. From what I could tell, he was up and cheering and wasn’t sitting on the bench sulking about his predicament. That’s important, because Thursday’s benching is only a big deal if Westbrook makes it a big deal. If he becomes (more) moody or if he lets it impact his relationship with his head coach, then it will rear it’s ugly head in the future when the chips are down.

I didn’t see a lot of Westbrook in his rookie season, but the punditry has been saying that h has “come a long way” in becoming a point guard. If that’s the case, I shudder to think about his decision-making in his rookie season. His assist-to-turnover ratio was dreadful (1.61) in his first year, got a lot better in his second season (2.42), then dipped in his third season (2.10). In the playoffs, his A/TO ratio is 1.48 — so tell me, how far has he really come?

I may be dead wrong, but I don’t think the Thunder can win a title this year with Westbrook at the point.

Regular readers know that I’m no fan of Westbrook’s performance in the Playoffs. He posts gaudy numbers in virtually every game, but when it comes down to crunch time, he has been inconsistent.

Take Game 6 in Memphis. Westbrook finished with 27 points (on 11-for-22 shooting), four assists and three rebounds. Great, right? Not quite.

A closer look at Westbrook’s performance in crunch time reveals an entirely different story. After entering the game with 9:04 to play, he turns the ball over on three of the next four OKC possessions. The Grizzlies capitalize with a pair of Zach Randolph buckets. The four-point lead swells to seven.

Trailing by that margin with 3:29 to play, Westbrook misses a layup. On the next Memphis possession, Westbrook closes on an O.J. Mayo catch too quickly and Mayo goes by him for a 19-foot stop-and-pop to push the lead to nine. When Westbrook misses a 17-foot jumper with 2:23 to play, the Thunder are all but done.

He went 3-of-7 (0-2 from 3PT) with zero assists and three turnovers in the final 9:04, and his team was -8 during that span.

Can the Thunder win a title with Russell Westbrook at the point? Unless he finds a way to suddenly become much more efficient, I’d say no. He’s young, but he’s been in the league for three years and is still playing inconsistent ball in crunch time.