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HOOPSWORLD’s Senior NBA Analyst Tommy Beer takes you through his most recent musings on the National Basketball Association in this latest installment of the NBA Six Pack:

1. Difficult Decisions Lie Ahead in Oklahoma City
The Oklahoma City Thunder have as bright a future as any organization in the NBA. Kevin Durant is the most potent scoring force in the entire league and is already a perennial MVP candidate. Oh, and he’s 23 years old. Russell Westbrook is one of the most dynamic and explosive point guards to come into the league in very long time. Westbrook is one of just two players to average over 23 points and five assists this season (LeBron James was the other). And Westbrook is just 23 years old. These two young studs represent the true core and foundation of the Thunder franchise. Accordingly, both Durant and Westbrook are locked up via long-term extensions exceeding $80 million.

However, the extremely intriguing question is which other key pieces will Thunder general manager Sam Presti decide to pair with his two superstars long-term? In particular, will Presti be forced to choose between two of the NBA’s more promising young players: Serge Ibaka and James Harden?

Both Ibaka and Harden can be offered contract extensions once free agency begins on July 1. However, if either player doesn’t ink an extension, they will become restricted free agents in the summer of 2013. Obviously, the Thunder’s preference would be to keep both in OKC, but that may not be a realistic possibility.

During the 2013-14 season, Durant will make $17.8 million. Westbrook will earn $15.6 million that year. Extending those two at max dollars was a no-brainer. However, the third highest-paid player on OKC is Kendrick Perkins. Presti signed Perkins to a $36 million contract extension in March of 2011, and while Presti has been an undeniably brilliant executive and team architect, that is one decision that may come back to bite him. Perkins is due $8.4 million in 2013-14, and $9.2 million the following season. Perk played 27 minutes a night for OKC during the regular season, yet averaged below seven rebounds a game for the first time since 2008 and also shot below 49 percent from the floor for just the second time in his career.

The salary cap this past season was set at $58.2 million and the cap is likely stay put next year. Assuming that number stays stable in the near future, the ramifications of three players accounting for nearly $42 million in cap space are significant.

If Harden or Ibaka are allowed to test the waters of free agency in July of 2013, rest assured they will receive immense interest and major offers from salivating suitors.

Harden is coming off the best season of his brief, but budding, career and was just named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year. He scored in double figures in all but four of his appearances this year and led all reserves in scoring, averaging 16.8 points. Like all great bench players, he was also incredibly efficient, posting a career-high in field-goal percentage (49.1 percent). Durant and Westbrook get the lion’s share of national media attention, but Harden was often a true x-factor for Oklahoma City; the Thunder posted a 14-1 record in the 15 games Harden scored over 20 points. And how about this factoid (courtesy of Yahoo’s Justin Phan): The only six guards to post a higher PER than James Harden in their age-22 season: Chris Paul, Oscar Robertson, Kobe Bryant, Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose and Magic Johnson.

Although Ibaka will never be the equal of Harden offensively, the former brings unparalleled defense and rebounding to the table. Still raw and relatively inexperienced at 22 years of age, the sky is the limit for Ibaka’s defensive prowess. Despite limited playing time, Ibaka led the NBA in blocks

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