Basketball: ESPN NBA writer Zach Lowe's bold Steven Adams predictions

How long will Steven Adams remain in a Thunder uniform? Photo / AP

Steven Adams begins his seventh NBA season today - but according to one prominent NBA writer, it might be his last with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Thunder take on the Utah Jazz at 2.00pm in their season opener this afternoon, in what is expected to be a down year for the franchise, after they traded away both of their star players - Paul George and Russell Westbrook.

While there is still talent on the team, led by future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul, the haul of draft picks received for both George and Westbrook means that the Thunder are clearly rebuilding for the future - a future that may not include Adams and his hefty contract, which accounts for $US53 million over the next two seasons.

With Adams still a productive player - and his production and role on the team set to increase this year - there are hopes that the Thunder could get something in return - likely draft picks and either young prospects or salary-dumped contracts - for the Kiwi centre as they plan their rebuild.

And, according to ESPN's NBA expert Zach Lowe, Adams' time in Oklahoma City could come to an end this season.

Writing in his bold NBA predictions column, Lowe says that he believes the Thunder are likely to trade both Adams and point guard Dennis Schroder.

"By the time free agency quiets in July, the bet here is both are elsewhere. It might take that long for the centre market to broaden, but Adams will draw interest," Lowe writes.

Lowe also predicts Adams to set a NBA record this season, albeit an obscure one.

Adams has long been a force on the offensive glass, but rarely dominates in the defensive rebounding category, with noted stat-padder Westbrook often stealing his rebounds to chase meaningless triple-doubles.

It has led to a curious statistic which Lowe points out, where "Adams is the only player in history (minimum 5,000 minutes) to have rebounded at least 13 per cent of his own team's misses and fewer than 16 per cent of opponent misses."

Lowe also notes that Adams is only one of 12 seven-footers with a career defensive-rebounding rate below 16.5 per cent, alongside the likes of the Lopez twins, Andrea Bargnani and Eddy Curry.

However, with Westbrook gone, Lowe believes that Adams could "shatter" the record for the "biggest year-to-year leap in defensive rebounding rate", a record held by Ian Mahinmi, who improved 11 per cent from the 2013-2014 to the 2014-2015 season.

That could also see Adams average a double-double for the first time, having come close the last two seasons with averages of 13.9 points and 9.0 rebounds in 2017-2018, and 13.9 points and 9.5 rebounds last season.

Adams is also 33 games away from becoming just the 11th person to play 500 regular season games for the Thunder.

Now we wait to see if the Thunder allow him to reach that landmark.