For the New Orleans Pelicans (Hornets at the time), the season after the long time face of the franchise, Chris Paul, was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers was beyond miserable. How bad was it? The most used lineup featured Trevor Ariza, Gustavo Ayon, Marco Belinelli, Jarrett Jack and Chris Kaman; so yeah, it was painful.
Eric Gordon, the centerpiece of the Chris Paul trade, played in just nine games and immediately soured fans on the idea of him being the new star of the team. After years of competitive basketball and exciting lineups, the disappointing start of the rebuild wore the fans and organization down almost immediately.