As the NBA descended into chaos during the past week, with players moving left and right and last season’s championship contenders drastically altering their rosters to gear up for another run at the title, the team to watch out for might just be the only team to stand pat during this hectic off-season.

Of course, I’m referring to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team that last season advanced to the Western Conference Finals before losing to the eventual NBA Champions, the Dallas Mavericks. Their run to prominence began two seasons ago, when they pushed the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers to six closely-competitive games in the first round of the playoffs. From there, they built a reputation of being “the team to watch out for” in the NBA, a position in sports that often doesn’t turn out so well (ask the Houston Texans of the NFL, a team that has been routinely in this position and will finally enter the playoffs for the first time this season).

But the Thunder managed to not only to match the hype they’d received, they even surpassed it by defeating the Memphis Grizzlies in the Conference Semifinals. Sure, in defeating the Grizzlies and the Denver Nuggets in the previous round, they didn’t exactly defeat a team believed to be better than them. And yet still, there they were, competing for a chance to advance to the NBA Finals much earlier than people expected.

Seldom can an NBA team improve without making significant signings or trades, and yet there is no doubt that the potential is there for the Thunder to get even better than they were last year by standing pat. With the core of the roster below the age of 25, each player—even the league’s leading scorer, Kevin Durant, has the opportunity to improve numerous facets of their game. Durant in particular has been working on his post-up game so that he will not have to rely so much on his jump shot. As sweet as his stroke is, he needs to take advantage of his size with some good post moves. Simultaneously, this season he should try to improve his defense as well.

Meanwhile, Kendrick Perkins, a midseason acquisition last year, has come into training camp seemingly in the best shape he has been in for his entire NBA career, slimming down to less than 270 pounds. This new size should allow him to be more mobile, nimble, and most importantly, stay on the court without getting bit by the injury bug that he has so often been plagued with.

The biggest concern for the Thunder seems to be one that cropped up during the playoffs: potential chemistry issues between Kevin Durant and point guard Russell Westbrook, as both players establish themselves as big name players. Many perceived Westbrook as too much of a ball-hog during the playoffs and being largely ineffective with his shot selection.

Many people believe that there is a lack of chemistry between the two, which will eventually result in the team imploding or the team being forced to trade one of the two away (clearly that person would be Westbrook). But at the end of the day, the rumors of a rift between the two superstars are simply that: just rumors. Until we see more definitive signs of friction on-the-court, or we see a regression of team chemistry, there isn’t anything to be alarmed about when it comes to this team. So even though they might not have made any big splash in terms of signings, the Thunder look like one of the top teams to beat entering the 2011-2012 season.