OKC Thunder: Ranking Oklahoma City's Most Disappointing Players of the 2018/19 NBA season

The Oklahoma City Thunder headed into the 2018/19 NBA season with renewed confidence that they could challenge for a first NBA title.

Many had tipped Paul George to walk away from the team following last season's playoff defeat to the Utah Jazz, however, the Thunder managed to convince the All-Star to sign a new long term deal, while also adding both Dennis Schroder and Nerlens Noel.

After a strong start to the 18/19 season, the Thunder were quickly tipped to be among Golden State's biggest rivals, however, the team has struggled since the All-Star break, falling from 3rd to 7th in the West standings.

Evidently, OKC had higher expectations upon entering the season, and here we will examine three players that have failed to reach the heights expected of them:

#3 Markieff Morris

Morris has played 20 times since joining the Thunder back in February (Picture Credit - MSN)

Markieff Morris spent the first half of the season with the Washington Wizards, although after he was traded to and subsequently waived by the New Orleans Pelicans, Morris joined the Thunder's playoff push.

The 29-year-old was expected to come into the team and have a similar impact to that of Corey Brewer last season, however, Morris has struggled to fit into Billy Donovan's system, and his impact has been minimal.

During 20 appearances for the Thunder, Morris has averaged just 5.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. The veteran is also playing a career-low 15.4 minutes per game, which is especially surprising when considering the Thunder's lack of depth at power forward.

The University of Kansas product is also shooting just 35% from the field, and it is possible that Morris could further see a reduction in minutes during the playoffs. Ultimately, Morris looked to be another shrewd acquisition by Sam Presti, however, it has not quite clicked for the former Phoenix man.

#2 Steven Adams

Steven Adams has been with the Oklahoma City Thunder since 2014

By no means has Steven Adams been poor this season, although the big Kiwi has failed to take his game to the next level that many Thunder fans have been expecting for the last 12 months.

Adams is averaging 14.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game, which shows little improvement over the previous campaign, although it is worth noting that his rebound totals are held back by the presence of Westbrook.

Adams also continues to struggle in matchups against the NBA's most dominant bigs, and he still needs to add consistency to his potentially excellent defense.

His free-throw shooting has also reached a career low of just 50%, although, at 25, Adams still has plenty of time to reach his All-Star potential, and the Thunder will be hoping for a number of big performances from the Kiwi during the upcoming playoffs.

#1 Patrick Patterson

Patrick Patterson has struggled to find a consistent spot in the Thunder rotation

Following an impressive four-year spell in Toronto, Patrick Patterson joined the Thunder ahead of the 17/18 season and he was initially earmarked as a starter in Oklahoma City. While he was relegated to the bench following the surprise arrival of Carmelo Anthony, the power forward managed to contribute well during 82 regular season appearances.

However, Patterson's minutes waned during the 2018 playoffs, and that theme has continued into the current season. The 30-year-old has played just 60 times, contributing 3.8 points and 2.4 rebounds in 14 minutes per contest -- ultimately failing to fill the void that Melo's summer departure left.

When on the court, Billy Donovan has tried to use the former Raptors man in a 3 and D role, although with Patterson's accuracy falling to 33%, it looks as though he will have an extremely limited role in the playoffs.