The Thunder knocked off the Lakers in the second round of the playoffs last season. Los Angeles, however, has replaced traded All-Star center Andrew Bynum and departed point guard Ramon Sessions for two perennial All-Stars in (Dwight) Howard and (Steve) Nash. The veteran Lakers have also added some depth in Antawn Jamison, Jodie Meeks, Chris Duhon and Earl Clark while re-signing Jordan Hill and keeping Pau Gasol.

Meanwhile, the Thunder return wiser and more experienced after losing to the Heat in the NBA Finals. Oklahoma City has a nemesis of Howard’s in defensive-minded center Kendrick Perkins. Additionally, point guard Eric Maynor will return from injury and the Thunder have an intriguing rookie in Perry Jones III.

“It was a great move for [the Lakers],” (Kevin) Durant said. “[Howard] is the most dominant center in the league. It’s going to make it tough on other teams. But I like that challenge. We all like that challenge in OKC. It should be fun.

“That’s what the Lakers do. They make big moves. That’s part of their DNA.”

via Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports