Former OKC Thunder Lottery Pick Josh Giddey Set to Return to Bricktown on March 31

The Oklahoma City Thunder will welcome Josh Giddey back to Bricktown with the Chicago Bulls during the 2024-25 regular season.

Mar 29, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey (3) reacts to an officials call after a play against the Phoenix Suns during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

March 31 will represent a key date on the NBA calendar for the Oklahoma City Thunder. The No. 6 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Josh Giddey, will make his return to Bricktown. This will be an emotional moment of sorts, with respect to the likes of Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Aleksej Pokusevski and Tre Mann, Giddey is the first departure this era of the Thunder has seen where a player felt like a lock at times to be included in the future core of this franchise.

Instead, the two sides ended their partnership this summer after the Oklahoma City Thunder asked the 21-year-old to take on a bench role heading into a contract year, to which the young guard refused.

As the 2023-24 season unfolded, it became clear how ill-fit Giddey was for this version of the Thunder and conversely how poorly constructed the Thunder were to maximize the 6-foot-8 guard. This is no one's fault - Jalen Williams got too good too fast at a unique position, Chet Holmgren added a different dimension to this team and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went from who is the point guard debates between himself and Giddey to is he a top five player in the NBA debates.

It is safe to say the two sides out grew one another and it ended in a Summer time swap that sent Giddey to Chicago and the Bulls returned Alex Caruso to Oklahoma City in a one-for-one trade that made each side a winner. Giddey finally gets to play a role that works with his skillsets and the Thunder couldn't have asked for a more perfect fit for their roster.

So as Giddey is set to return to Oklahoma City, it will be an interesting atmosphere and contest. On top of Caruso also going against his former team - and the mentor and mentee matchup of Billy Donvovan coaching against Mark Daigneault.

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