Oklahoma City has been down this NBA road before, ready to graciously welcome a team that will hit town with low expectations and lots of question marks.
When the temporarily displaced New Orleans Hornets landed in this city's lap in 2005 it hardly mattered they arrived carrying a franchise-worst 18-wins from the previous season.
Most fans probably won't think twice about the Seattle SuperSonics' franchise-worst 20 wins of last season, evidenced by the 11,000 who added their names to the team's ticket request list in the first 24 hours after the franchise's relocation announcement.
But wins and losses are likely to soon become much more important for Oklahoma City's soon-to-be-named ballclub. So the biggest question is now, how good can the team be next year?
Before writing the team off as bottom feeders in the ultra-competitive Western Conference, consider the similarities between the Hornets and the franchise formerly known as the Sonics:
•Both teams came to Oklahoma City with a celebrated rookie from the previous season. The Hornets had J.R. Smith, the Sonics have Kevin Durant.
•Both teams selected point guards with the No. 4 overall pick the year they relocated to Oklahoma City. The Hornets chose Chris Paul, the Sonics chose Russell Westbrook.
•Both teams had coaches looking to resurrect their careers. The Hornets had Byron Scott, the Sonics have P.J. Carlesimo.
•Both teams had dismal attendance the year before arriving in Oklahoma City. The Hornets averaged just 14,221 fans in New Orleans, the lowest in the league in 2004-05. The Sonics averaged 13,355 fans last year in Seattle, the third lowest in the NBA.
And the old Sonics, like the Hornets did with David West, will come to town with a complementary player who could turn out to be special in second-year forward Jeff Green.
While it's unlikely Westbrook will be as productive as Paul in Year 1, and Carlesimo doesn't have the winning track record Scott did before the Hornets' 18-win season, Green could surprise with a similar impact as West. And the impact of an improved home-court advantage cannot be underestimated.
Green is a solid all-around player who averaged 10.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists last season. By comparison, West averaged just 6.2 points and 4.3 rebounds the year before the Hornets arrived in Oklahoma City, his second season in the NBA. West then averaged 17.1 points and 7.4 rebounds in his breakout season while playing in Oklahoma City
