In the immediate aftermath of the Paul George and Russell Westbrook trades it was widely assumed that OKC would be going full rebuild, stripping the team down to parts, and starting anew. Veteran, (and highly paid), players such as Steven Adams, Dennis Schröder, Chris Paul, and Danilo Gallinari were viewed as locks to be dealt away from OKC, bringing back picks and other assets to aid the Thunder rebuild. It appeared that truly dark times were on the horizon, filled with mounting losses, and hoping for the lucky bounce of ping pong balls at the Draft Lottery. The brutal start to the 2019-2020 season certainly did not help the forecast.
The Standard Bearer: Steven Adams
