There is no Oklahoma City-Golden State rivalry. That myth was extinguished right along with the Thunder Saturday night. It's over. Kaput. As much a memory as Kevin Durant in OKC.

Rivals must be, if not equals, at least worthy challengers. And for all of Russell Westbrook's heroics, histrionics and well-justified anger, he and his team are no match for the best team in the NBA. A class apart? Try several classes, a gulf so wide not even Westbrook's indomitable willpower, rage and triple-double prowess can breach it.

Which leaves us with what comes next. Westbrook, whose imitation of Oscar Robertson this season has made him a leading MVP candidate, needs to also take a page out of LeBron James' playbook:

Demand -- right now, today, -- that his front office get its act together and surround its star with players worthy of his talents, ambitions and drive.

The Warriors' 130-114 beatdown of the Thunder over the weekend came despite Westbrook putting up 47 points on a very efficient 14-of-26 shooting night. He also had 11 rebounds and eight assists. No matter. With no help, no stars and no answer for the Warriors' fourth-best player, let alone the likes of Durant or Curry, Westbrook's impassioned plan to bring it to his former teammate is just empty noise -- a lot of sound and fury signifying absolutely nothing.

The league now requires stars to be grouped together to reach their goals. That's a stone-cold fact. LeBron understood this early, which is why he went to Miami and then, upon returning to Cleveland, accurately calculated that Kyrie Irving and that No. 1 overall pick (and what it could garner) were enough to give him the backup he needed. He might complain about his roster now but LeBron had a deciding hand in forming it, and he has a team that showed it can beat the Warriors in a best-of-7 series.

Russ, not so much.

Which brings us to Sam Presti, a damned fine GM who still has squandered his own genius. He was unable to manage up with his owner and find the money to keep James Harden when that should have been his career's top priority. It's a mistake that laid the foundation for Houston's eventual rise, OKC's resulting fall and the predicament Westbrook now finds himself in.

In trading Harden, Presti got not so much a haul as a hangover. Those draft picks? One led to Steven Adams, but it's an underwhelming return for a possible MVP, particularly now that Durant is also elsewhere. Adams is a fine player -- as is, say, Victor Oladipo or Enes Kanter -- but it's not remotely enough. In today's NBA you need a LeBron/Kyrie/Love. Or a Steph/Klay/Draymond. Or, were you so fortunate, a Durant/Westbrook/Harden. Durant saw the writing on the wall and bolted for better, and better managed, pastures.

K.D. didn't think he and Westbrook were enough. How could Westbrook be fine with it just being him?

Hate Durant all you want for joining a 73-win team, but had the Thunder kept Harden they would now have three of the best five players in the league and a supporting cast of utter excellence. I don't buy the they-all-needed-the-ball-in-their-hands argument. Those guys made an NBA Finals when they were very young. They sky was the limit, but the Thunder couldn't hold onto the rocket ship. That's not K.D.'s fault. That's not Russ' fault. That's on the front office.

So it's time for Russ to rage at them, LeBron-style. Demand help. Make pointed comments about their will to win and approach to the game. Be a little unfair. Make it clear pieces come in or he won't be happy. Put Presti on notice. Even great GMs like Presti -- like great players -- need people who can tell them no, nudge them to be better and hold them accountable.

There's a lot of yes-people in OKC, but Westbrook need not be one of them.

Would it matter? Are there the assets in place and the pieces out there for Presti to be able to weave enough magic to get Westbrook the help to return the Thunder to a place of real contention?

It doesn't matter. LeBron has a title, and he has raged against a much better roster than the one Westbrook plays with each day. Time, Russ, to execute the same plan.

Save your venom and words and games with the media for your general manager. You need a real roster around you before you go after K.D.