Feb 6, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins (5) handles the ball against Golden State Warriors center Andris Biedrins (15) during the second half at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma City Thunder starting center Kendrick Perkins has often been thought of as the weak link on the Thunder roster.

Perkins came to OKC with the reputation of being some kind of defensive anchor. He could defend Dwight Howard one-on-one better than anyone in the league and he was going to be the missing piece for the Thunder in their quest for an NBA title.

Then last year happened and the Thunder made it to the NBA Finals and Perkins was one of – if not the – reasons the Thunder lost in five games to the Miami Heat.

Yesterday, Perkins was linked to a trade rumor with the Phoenix Suns. The potential deal would have sent Perkins, Eric Maynor, Jeremy Lamb and a first-round pick to the Suns for Marcin Gortat and P.J. Tucker.

Shortly after the rumor, it was announced that Perkins would miss the game against the Houston Rockets with a sprained right knee. After being off for the last five days mind you.

The rumor felt like it would come true if you were reading between the lines, and everyone was. Then a source came out saying it was nothing more than a rumor and the original source that started the whole thing said it was a “league rumor” and that the Thunder and Suns actually hadn’t discussed this trade.

Too bad for the Thunder.

Ridding themselves of Perkins and gaining Gortat to replace him would have been monumental. Gortat isn’t anywhere near the defender that Perkins is but offensively he is far superior. Gortat can actually score from the post too and is great at rolling to the rim in the pick-and-roll. He would have been something the Thunder offense – which is the best in the league – has never had.

The loss of Perkins defensively would not be a big deal either. With the decline of the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies, Perkins has less value as a great defender of post-up players. The Thunder don’t really need that so much anymore and can easily survive without it.

What OKC needs the most is more scoring in the paint. Whenever they lose, it’s usually because they are shooting too many jumpers and not getting enough easy looks. There is not a ton of balance in where the Thunder offense can hurt you as it is mostly from the outside.

Gortat would change that overnight.

So the question isn’t just “Should the Thunder trade Perkins?” It depends on what they can get. If acquiring Gortat to replace him is possible, they need to do it. If Kevin Garnett is a possibility, do that too.

The Thunder know this and they would never let him go for nothing. They probably value him more than any other team in the league.

The trade deadline is later today at 3 p.m. EST. We will know soon enough of Perkins is on the way out or not.

Feb. 10, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA: Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins reacts after being called for a technical foul in the second quarter against the Phoenix Suns at the US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder weren’t expected to be very active at the trade deadline this year. They have the second best record in the NBA and there aren’t many holes in their roster.

Reports have surfaced today that the Thunder are considering a trade with the Phoenix Suns that would send starting center Kendrick Perkins to Phoenix in exchange for Marcin Gortat, according to the Arizona Republic.

The Thunder would also send Eric Maynor, rookie Jeremy Lamb and a first-round pick to the Suns and receive P.J. Tucker in return as well.

The Thunder would owe Perkins over $17 million the next two seasons if they keep him. Gortat has another year left on his contract worth $7.72 million.

It would be a pretty big surprise if the Thunder part ways with Perkins this season because they’ve never said before they are looking to trade him.

With the decline of the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference the Thunder may not see Perkins as such a big need anymore.

Receiving Tucker as part of the deal would be sneaky good too. Tucker is one of the premiere hustle guys in the league right now as a defender and offensive rebounder. He would actually be a decent option for the Thunder to have defend LeBron James too.

We’ve already heard Maynor’s name linked to a few trade rumors and there have been reports that the Thunder are aggressively shopping him.

Lamb seems like a trade chip at best in the Thunder’s eyes since he has hardly played at all this season.

This is just the beginning hearing about this trade. The Thunder and the rest of the league have until tomorrow afternoon at 3 pm EST to make any deals.

Update: It looks like this was nothing more than a rumor…

I mentioned All-Star break talk of a Perkins/Lamb/pick-Gortat/Tucker swap. Apparently, that was a league rumor but not actual team talks.

— Paul Coro (@paulcoro) February 20, 2013

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

The Thunder have to be the most exciting team to watch in the NBA this season. And they also have had some of the more memorable box scores this season.

The Thunder had their Big Three each score 30 or more points and Serge Ibaka come two points shy of a 20-20 game.

Oklahoma City beat Phoenix 115-104 and only five players scored for the Thunder. Kendrick Perkins had six.

For three quarters it was not Kevin Durant’s night. He struggled mightily from the field and simply was not letting the game come to him, and he usually does.

Trailing 84-68 with 4:13 left in the third quarter, Oklahoma City would cut the deficit to just 88-84 by the end of the quarter. The Thunder were on a 30-7 run with eight minutes left in the fourth and ahead 98-90.

Durant after a frustrating night in which he didn’t feel he got the calls he should have, got going in the fourth and scored 12 points to give him 30 on the night.

Durant got into foul trouble picking up two cheapies in the first and Russell Westbrook and James Harden stepped up. With Harden in the Thunder finished the first period strong but still trailed 34-25.

Steve Nash had seven assists in the first and Marcin Gortat 12 points. Nash would get up to 13 assists by halftime but wouldn’t drop another dime the rest of the game.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Westbrook was schooled by Nash in the first half but came out with much better defense in the second half. Westbrook also matched Nash’s offense and then some as he scored 31 points and had 10 of his own assists.

Harden was a machine tonight off the bench and the Thunder were plus-27 when he was in the game. He scored 30 points on 12 shots and made 10-of-11 free throws.

With five minutes left in the third quarter, Royal Ivey entered the game for the first time. He did not score and missed all four of his three-point attempts but he played the rest of the game and the Thunder outscored Phoenix by 23 with him in.

Ivey certainly played great defense and helped stretch the floor on offense as Phoenix showed a lot of zone.

The Thunder were only able to go small in the fourth because of Ibaka’s career game and total control of the boards. Nine of Ibaka’s 20 rebounds were offensive too and he added three blocks as well. Ibaka and Westbrook would prove to be a very solid weapon for Oklahoma City’s offense tonight.

The Suns had 28 assists in the game with 23 of them coming in the first half. Oklahoma City did the most of their damage with 31 fast break points against the old knees of the Suns.

This game again felt like one that the Thunder should not have won for three quarters but then they just give their opponents too much to handle for 48 minutes to lose. They seem to never get tired and never give up in any game this season.

The Thunder now improve their NBA-best record to 31-8 this season and will play next Friday night when they host Cleveland (13-23).

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Thunder (1-game winning streak)
106.1 Offensive Efficiency (2nd)
99.1 Defensive Efficiency (12th)
96.0 Pace (5th)
56.7 True Shooting % (2nd)
51.6 Rebound Rate (4th)

Suns (3-game winning streak)
100.2 Offensive Efficiency (16th)
101.9 Defensive Efficiency (18th)
94.4 Pace (13th)
52.4 True Shooting % (13th)
48.7 Rebound Rate (24th)

The Thunder are coming off a nice win against Dallas two nights ago. The win gave Oklahoma City the season series at 3-1 and they came from behind in the final minutes to close out the defending champs.

Phoenix has won their last three games and five of their last six. They have been inconsistent this year despite the amazing play of Steve Nash and his new pick-and-roll partner, Marcin Gortat.

The Suns can still win a lot of games in this league playing their style. Their style just doesn’t bode well when matched up with the juggernaut Thunder.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Nash will have to contend with one of the best defenders in the league in Russell Westbrook as well as somehow try and slow Westbrook down at the other end. When Westbrook has matchups like this where he truly overmatches his counterpart in athleticism, he has really tried to take advantage of it this year and pretty much gets to whatever spot he wants.

The Suns have a ton of small forwards t throw out on the court but none are much match for Kevin Durant who is coming off a few recent games where he did have to face tough defenders.

The Suns can be at their best running and moving the ball around for open shots but that pace tonight will favor the hyper-athletes that the Thunder strut out onto the court.

Gortat has been a pleasant surprise for Phoenix this year but it doesn’t get much tougher than Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins protecting the paint.

Oklahoma City is susceptible to upsets from teams that hit the offensive glass and play great defense that forces turnovers. The Suns aren’t that team and with the game being played in Oklahoma City, the Thunder should walk all over Phoenix tonight.

These two teams met once earlier this season on New Year’s Eve with the Thunder winning 107-97. In that game Nash was held to eight points on 3-of-10 shooting. Durant only scored 12 and Westbrook 18 but it was the Thunder bench that really came through with 53 points.

James Harden had 10 points, eight assists and seven rebounds and Daequan Cook played especially well knocking down four treys.