Thunder: Rebuild will be slowed by Chris Paul not allowing the slide to be far

The Hornets hit town in September 2005. We knew nothing about them.

Didn’t know that Byron Scott was their coach. That Willis Reed was their ambassador of goodwill. That Hugo was their mascot.

Didn’t even know that they stunk. The Hornets’ 18-64 record of 2004-05 was in the past, and if it was repeated in Oklahoma City, who cared? Shaq and Kobe, KG and LeBron, Yao and Iverson, Dirk and Carmelo. All were coming to downtown OKC, and the fate of our Hometown Hornets didn’t matter.

Until the games started. And a rookie point guard from Wake Forest made us scrap all those ideas of darkening the Ford Center door merely to see some other city’s stars. We had our own.

CP3 became our first love. We fell hard for the Hornets, and in two Oklahoma City seasons, the Hornets never hosted a meaningless game. They stayed in the playoff hunt until the very end of both seasons. Those Hornets finished 38-44 and 39-43; not good by the Thunder standards to which we’ve grown accustomed, but excellent by the standards the Hornets brought from New Orleans.

And Paul was the reason. A scorer. A passer. A fighter. A leader. That’s what he was as a 20-year-old rookie. That’s what he is as a 34-year-old NBA icon.

Now Paul is back in Oklahoma City, with a Thunder franchise that is ready to strip to the bottom so it can begin a climb to the top. Except employing CP3 is no way to lose.

The Thunder season starts Wednesday in Salt Lake City, the home opener is Friday against Washington and the Warriors come to town for a Sunday matinee next weekend. The baptism is quick for life without Russell Westbrook.

Not much is expected from the Thunder. Somewhere in the 12-13 range of the 15-team Western Conference. The roster is thin. Loaded at point guard. Rock-solid inside. Deficient on the wing in a league that has gone wing-crazy.

The playoffs seem remote. Paul. Danilo Gallinari. Steven Adams. Dennis Schroder. All seem to be on the trading block. Heartbreak is likely for any fan who gets attached to a Thunder ballplayer this side of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

But there’s one thing on which we can count. This Thunder roster won’t fall far. Not with Chris Paul. He won’t allow it.

We’re all going to miss Westbrook, his fury and ferociousness. He became known as the NBA’s greatest competitor. But Paul is Westbrook’s equal in competitiveness, with two differences. CP’s fierceness comes without the highlight reels that accompany Westbrook’s, but Paul’s fierceness extends to defense.

“Russell was an unbelievable competitor,” Billy Donovan said. “I think Chris is an incredible competitor, too. That’s important to him. He loves the game. That’s one thing I always admired about Russell. Russell loved playing, loved competing. Chris Paul’s 34 years old, and he still loves to play and loves to compete.”

Every team that Paul has joined got immediately better.

The Hornets, I just told you about.

After six seasons with the Hornets, Paul engineered a trade to the Clippers. Those Clips were coming off a 32-50 record, but with Paul became the fifth seed in the West and made the conference semifinals. In six Los Angeles seasons, Paul and the Clippers averaged 53.7 wins per year.

Two summers ago, Paul worked a trade to the Rockets. Houston had averaged 51.5 wins the previous four years. Not a ton of room for improvement. The Rockets won 65 in CP’s first season in Houston.

This is not a guy who accepts the status quo.

Of course, Paul is in a different situation now. With both Westbrook and Paul George gone, no way can the Thunder hit the high 40s in wins. But the Thunder can surpass the expectation of lows 30s.

The focus “doesn’t change,” Paul said. “I tell you, I am who I am. I’m excited about our team. We’re going to go out to win every single night. I’m excited about what we got.”

I am, too, primarily because the Thunder has Chris Paul.

Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. You can also view his personality page at newsok.com/berrytramel.