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For the first time since the 2006-07 campaign when they were still the Seattle Supersonics, the Oklahoma City Thunder are preparing to enter a season without Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook on their roster.
Depressing, isn't it?
Of course, Durant left long ago, departing the Thunder for the Golden State Warriors during the summer of 2016. But Westbrook stuck it out, expressing loyalty the only NBA franchise he had ever called home and even signing a contract extension with the club.
However, after three straight first-round knockouts, both Westbrook and Oklahoma City decided it was time to go in a different direction, resulting in OKC trading its all-time favorite player to the Houston Rockets in a deal that brought Chris Paul to the Thunder.
Not that Oklahoma City was in any rush to trade for Paul; it was just the only deal the Thunder could find where they could match Westbrook's salary.
But, nevertheless, here we are, and OKC does not even resemble the same team we had grown accustomed to watching the last decade.
Not only did the Thunder trade Westbrook, but they also dealt Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers, as the Westbrook-George experiment failed miserably the last two years.
Sam Presti did a great job of recouping value, hauling in a stash of draft picks for both of his stars. Drafting is one thing Presti does impeccably well, so the Thunder's future seems bright.
But we aren't talking about the future. We are talking about the 2019-20 season, and it will be a rough one for Oklahoma City.
The Thunder won't be historically bad or anything like that. Paul can still play (whenever he's actually healthy, that is), Steven Adams remains one of the best centers in the NBA and Danilo Gallinari, whom OKC landed in the George deal, is a very underrated scorer.
Plus, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who also came over in the George trade, had a very impressive rookie campaign in Los Angeles this past year, so he should be fun to watch.
Still, in spite of all of that, Oklahoma City certainly won't be contending for a playoff spot in the rugged Western Conference, and if anything, the Thunder might look to trade off some more of their pieces between now and February.
It's not that simple, though.
Paul has a massive contract that runs through 2022 (the final year is a $44.2 million player option), meaning Oklahoma City may have to attach one of the thousands (okay, not thousands, but you get the picture) of draft picks it acquired this offseason to him to even entice another team in a potential trade.
Adams? He's really good, but he is making $25.8 million this coming season and $27.5 million in 2020-21. Teams would surely express interest in the big man, but it will be very difficult for the Thunder to move him without taking back some bad salary in return.
Then there is Dennis Schroder, the mercurial bench guard who is making $31 million over the next two seasons. I'm not sure anyone is going to want to trade anything of value for an inefficient scorer who can't shoot and is not the greatest defender.
Andre Roberson has just one year left on his deal at a reasonable salary ($10.7 million), but he hasn't played basketball in a year-and-a-half thanks to multiple setbacks in his recovery from a torn patellar tendon. Good luck getting anything worthwhile for him.
The best trade piece may actually be Gallinari, who has one year and $22.6 million remaining. But, again, matching salaries and all that.
So while Oklahoma City may certainly gauge the trade market for several of its players, it doesn't necessarily mean Presti is going to be able to extract anything that significant in return.
As a result, the Thunder might end up stuck with this roster for the entire season, which will make them one of the most boring teams in the league. It's a shame to say it, but it's the truth.
It's not even like OKC will consider a coaching change this year, either.
Yes, Billy Donovan has taken his fair share of criticism since taking over as head coach in 2015, but can the Thunder really fire him if he doesn't succeed with this current roster?
I'm not saying he doesn't have any pressure on him at all. If Oklahoma City comes out and wins 15 games, he might have to go, but it would take a really, really bad season for the Thunder to pin any of the blame on Donovan, because everyone on their hamster knows that this team is not going to make the playoffs.
Oklahoma City is probably a 25-30 win team if Paul is able to stay healthy. If he misses half the season (which, given his history, his certainly possible), maybe the Thunder will finish with around 20-25 wins.
Again, they won't be the 2014 Philadelphia 76ers, but don't expect much of anything from the Thunder this year.
