Kendrick Perkins made his debut with the Thunder on Monday against the Wizards and will take part in their first real test with him in the lineup when they play the Heat on Wednesday.

Perkins prefers to think of himself as another building block for the Thunder, rather than the final piece of their title puzzle.

“I'm just trying to bring what I know to these young guys,” said Perkins. “We've got a good group of young guys that work hard, stay humble and are talented. I'm just trying to do what I can to come in and fit in.”

“There's no easy path to that level. You have to earn it by working every day,” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks, who won a title as a member of the 1994 Rockets. “We're getting pieces to having a good team. Perk is another good piece to getting where we want to get to.”

“I'm not trying to do too much. I'm not trying to do too little either,” Perkins said. “I've learned a lot in my eight years being in the league. I'm just trying to carry it over and bring it here and just bring a positive vibe, positive energy. I feel like these guys could get another level of confidence that they don't know that's down there.”