As the cliche goes, players and teams have championship "windows" that are bound by time and, quite often, contracts. If that cliche is true, the Oklahoma City Thunder is on the shorter end of a ticking clock.

At this stage in the summer, player contracts are of little concern to the Thunder organization, as virtually each rotation player from last season is wrapped up through at least the end of the 2014-15 season. Most important, Kevin Durant, last season's league MVP, will be in an OKC uniform through June 2016 when he can become an unrestricted costless agent. Likewise, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka are each locked up through 2017. Rising star Jeremy Lamb is inked through 2016, while starting center Kendrick Perkins has one more year remaining on his contract, as do key interior reserves Nick Collison and Steven Adams.

The sticking points will come with decisions made by Thabo Sefalosha and Caron Butler, both of whom are costless agents. Sefalosha has started for the Thunder for the last several seasons, but played limited minutes and rarely saw the floor during crunch time. Butler came to Oklahoma City from Miami on a one-year deal and saw critical spot minutes off the bench. At this point, each player can be seen as expendable to the Thunder, especially in light of Lamb's potential to sweep up their respective minutes.

The Oklahoma City front office must also decide what to do with Reggie Jackson. The back-up point guard (who wants to be a full time point guard) is signed through 2015, but OKC is faced with the dilemma of trading him now or losing him to costless agency. Jackson has made it clear that he wants to be a full-time starter, and the Thunder had some success with him in the starting line-up in the Playoffs.

However, no one knows what a two-guard set of Westbrook and Jackson would look like over the course of an entire season. Further, Jackson was the best bench scorer OKC had last year, and starting him would further deplete what was one of the worst reserve groups in the NBA. There is also the question of the feasibility of long-term ball sharing between Jackson, Durant, and Westbrook. Would there be enough possessions to keep all three starters happy?

On the flip side, if the Thunder asks Jackson to serve as Westbrook's back-up, it could further affect team chemistry. Such a situation would require either a trade or a straight release if he is not willing to continue his role of coming off the bench. The decision of how to best play Jackson no doubt weighs heavily on the minds of the OKC front office.

When (or if) personnel issues are cleared up, the Thunder can then use the summer months to focus on another matter of organizational importance: time. In fact, time is an overarching theme that wove its way through the 2013-14 Thunder season and looks to be a factor heading into the upcoming NBA campaign. Thunder General Manager Sam Presti wil have his hands full trying to overhaul an unproductive bench with little to no cap space.

Last season, Oklahoma City was at or near the top of NBA power rankings from wire to wire, and the team earned the second seed in the hyper-competitive Western Conference. But Thunder success came at a cost.

Westbrook sustained a knee injury on Christmas Day that shelved him for nearly three months. To keep its place in line, OKC increased Durant's minutes to nearly 40 per game. While the Thunder was able to stay in contention for the West's top seed, and Durant went on a scoring tear, the extended minutes took their toll on Durant, who seemed to have little gas left in his tank during the Western conference Finals versus San Antonio.

Add to that Ibaka's calf injury that kept him out of games one and two of the Spurs series, and it marks two years in a row that the Thunder was hamstrung by an injury to a key player. (OKC lost Westbrook to a knee injury in the team's first round series in 2013.)

The upcoming summer months provide an opportunity for Presti and the Thunder to address the issue of minutes. Adding depth to a weak bench will go a long way towards keeping Durant, Westbrook, and Ibaka fresh for what is a long NBA Playoff run. San Antonio, aside from being the model offensive system (more on that later), also became the flagship for managing minutes in the regular season. If Oklahoma City wants to maintain its status in the West, it would be wise to mimic the Spurs philosophy. Adding bench strength is a must, but the Thunder has almost no cap space to go after any significant costless agents. Any moves will have to be for lower tier players on the market, which could spell disaster for OKC.

But by no means is the cupboard empty in Oklahoma City. After all, OKC still suits up the reigning MVP in Durant and All-Stars in Westbrook and Ibaka. When all pistons are firing, there are few teams who can rival the Thunder's offensive firepower.

However, the 2014 Playoffs exposed a major flaw in the Oklahoma City system. Namely, both Durant and Westbrook have a tendency to over-dribble the basketball. Several playoff possessions saw either player dribble aimlessly for the duration of the shot clock and hoist contested jumpers at the buzzer. Again, like most NBA teams, OKC would be smart to adopt the San Antonio way. Ball movement and ball sharing are certainly en vogue in the league after what the Spurs did to Miami in the Finals.

Many Thunder critics think it is just a matter of time until Westbrook and Durant can no longer coincide and the team implodes. Head coach Scott Brooks must devise schemes that allow for maximum touches for each of his stars while also involving Jackson, Ibaka, Lamb, and others to showcase their talents. If nothing changes on the offensive end, look for the Thunder to bow out short of its Finals goal once again. However, unselfish ball movement ending with Durant jumpshots, Westbrook drives, and Ibaka and Adams dunks are certain to make the Western Conference elite shudder in fear.

The Thunder is on the clock as the proverbial window shrinks in size and opportunity. However shrewd off-season player moves and a new emphasis on team play could certainly allow that window to not only stay open, but also provide Oklahoma City with championship success.