Luke’s Locker Room

Kevin Durant to the Warriors. Dwyane Wade to the Bulls. Kobe Bryant retiring. Tim Duncan retiring.

That is the 2016 NBA offseason in a nutshell.

As the season begins this week, I can’t help but feel like this one is going to be different from previous seasons.

One of the NBA’s most well-liked and well-respected players, Durant, jumped ship from the franchise that drafted him No. 2 overall in 2007 to join the Golden State Warriors, a team still reeling from blowing a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Some believe Durant could be as hated as James was when he bolted Cleveland to join Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami.

Durant has a certain humility about him, so I don’t think he will be. He will probably just be the most hated player in Oklahoma.

On the positive side for Oklahoma City, Russell Westbrook is poised to have the best season of his career.

Wade left Miami to join the Bulls. Yes, the same Wade that carried Miami on his back during the worst season in the franchise’s history during 2007-08 with a 15-67 record.

Gone. Poof. Just like that, the heart and soul of the Heat is no longer a part of the franchise.

Instead, he chose to go back to his hometown in Chicago and play with fellow all-star Jimmy Butler and some guy named Rajon Rondo.

I wonder if Wade will be the go-to guy when games come down to the wire or if Jimmy Buckets will continue to be the main threat in the Bulls offense.

No way Rondo passes to both Butler and Wade. If we’re being honest, he probably won’t pass to either one.

Also, this player named Kobe will not be playing professional basketball this season.

I have never been a big Kobe fan, but he has been a staple of the NBA ever since I started staying up late with my dad watching his games on the West Coast in the Staples Center.

The “Mamba” won’t have any late-game heroics this year.

He won’t have the vintage Kobe look in his eye from when he scored 81 points against the Raptors in one of the best performances in NBA history.

But now he’s gone, and the only hope for the Lakers is Luke Walton.

Good luck with that, Jack Nicholson.

You can’t forget about Tim Duncan. “The Big Fundamental” played his entire 19-year NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs and Gregg Popovich, one of the best coaches in NBA history.

Duncan always seemed like a nice guy.

He just seems like the kind of guy that people cheer for, even if his coach is a cranky old man that didn’t eat his oatmeal that morning.

Two future hall-of-famers change teams. Two future hall-of-famers hang up the towel on great careers.

Regardless of these moves, the NBA is still the NBA, and it is so fun to watch because it can be so unpredictable.

But I feel like I have to make some predictions anyway because this is a column, and that’s what columns do.

Two things stick out to me about this coming NBA season.

My first prediction is that the Warriors will not win the NBA championship this season.

Call it bold, but I just don’t think bringing in another superstar to an already-loaded Warriors team instantly makes the team perfect.

It’s going to take a season or two, just like it did for James, Wade and Bosh in Miami.

My second prediction is that Russell Westbrook will have one of the best seasons for a point guard in NBA history.

Yes, Durant was great, and he did a lot for the Thunder as a franchise, but Westbrook was never able to truly play to his ability under the shadow of Durant and his 7-foot wingspan.

That being said, I could be 100 percent incorrect with my predictions, but I’m fine with that. That’s the NBA.

Here’s to another great NBA season.

DILLARD is the sports editor.