Well, what did you expect? The Thunder looked bad in a 98-87 loss to the Milwaukee Bukcs in the team’s Oklahoma City debut. This is the same team that lost a franchise-record 62 games in the last season as the Seattle SuperSonics.

They added Desmond Mason and Joe Smith, and got rid of Luke Ridnour and Francisco Elson. Those aren’t exactly moves that rocket you up the Western Conference standings.

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Kevin Durant struggled in his debut for the Thunder, finishing with 12 points and three rebounds on 5-of-14 shooting from the field, including going 0-for-3 from beyond the arc. Durant was saddled with foul trouble and played limited minutes in the first half.

The starting lineup? Earl Watson at point guard, Durant at shooting guard, Jeff Green at small forward, Nick Collison at power forward, Johan Petro at center, and the team’s highest paid player, Chris Wilcox, coming off the bench.

Looks like they had a good crowd in Oklahoma City, with more than 19,000 showing up to the game. It will be interesting to see if people continue to show up as the losses pile up – and you know they will.

Oklahoma’s stars showed up to Wednesday’s game, or what qualify as stars in Oklahoma City, including former University of Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer and PGA golfer Scott Verplank.

Seattle attorney Brad Keller, who defended the team’s ownership group and basically made the City of Seattle look pathetic in the courtroom, also sat courtside for the event. Maybe you should look for a home while he’s there, Brad. Don’t expect a warm welcome on your return to Sea-Tac.

Gary Washburn of the Seattle P-I was on hand, and talked to NBA Commissioner David Stern about the prospects of Seattle getting another team.

So how many games will the departed Sonics win this season? Most NBA previews have picked them near the bottom.

I think they’ll get 23 wins and will continue to struggle, and Durant will average about 23 points and five rebounds this season. What do you think? Or do you even care? Let me know in the comments section.