I think that it's possible we only win 30 games, but I don't think we should do much of anything about it.
If the team is good enough to squeak into the playoffs: awesome. It's a young team (five rookies? Six? It's ridiculous) and they should get better as players. The core doesn't seem good enough to threaten for a title in the intermediate- to long-run, but if they win, say, 45 games this year, then the team and coaching are much better than I thought, so maybe they'll surprise me and be able to take the next step.
If the team is bad enough to get a high lottery pick: awesome. I still like our youth and our talent, and adding another big piece would almost certainly bolster us in the long run. Further, Aldridge is young enough that by the time we climb from bad to mediocre to good, he'll still have useful tread left on his tires.
I'm simply not worried about this year. Not excited, like the Oden years, but not despondent, like last year's piece of veteran lameness. I will watch the games and see how the team develops... it should be interesting either way.
Ed O.