When Jeremy Lamb was sent to the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday and the best return that the Oklahoma City Thunder could drum up for him was cap relief in the form of Luke Ridnour's fully non-guaranteed contract and a 2016 second-rounder, it signalled the dwindling end to an era of optimism.
Lamb was a lottery pick back in 2012 by the Houston Rockets, and one of the core pieces to the James Harden trade of that summer. Nobody was expecting Lamb to be a superstar, but he was a likable guy that danced on the sidelines and had a cool hairstyle.