Former Thunder guard falls in debut despite scoring 14 points

The Oklahoma City Thunder have completely overhauled their roster this offseason. The Thunder opted to trade 2021 No. 6 overall pick Josh Giddey to the Chicago Bulls and acquired two-time All-Defensive member Alex Caruso.

Giddey struggled to fit into the OKC Thunder's style of play as he needed the ball in his hands more and was a liability to the defensive role given to him by the Thunder's roster construction. After the Thunder earned 57 wins in the regular season and defeated the Pelicans in the first round, things came to a head in Dallas when Oklahoma City was forced to bench Giddey – giving the young guard a 218-game starting streak brought in – grabbing a spark in the hope of a win.

Giddey's much-needed fresh start in the Windy City began at the Smooth King Center, where he faced a Pelicans team he had previously dominated in that building.

The lottery pick – who did not secure a new contract extension before the deadline this week – scored 14 points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out three assists and had the same number of turnovers on 11 shot attempts for his new replacement coach Billy Donovan in his season opener The starting signal was given.

The Chicago Bulls lost to the New Orleans Pelicans 123-111.

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