With the trade deadline now in the rearview mirror and teams’ playoff rosters starting to come into shape, the Oklahoma City Thunder have decided to waive shooting guard Alex Abrines according to an official press release from the team.
With the mid-season release, a rollercoaster three-year career with the OKC Thunder has now to a close for Alex Abrines. While Abrines was never a focal point of their rotation, he did prove the ability to come in off the bench and knock down crucial perimeter shots over his past few seasons in OKC.
Abrines has seen his role diminish this year, though this was largely due to a personal matter the Spanish guard has reportedly been tending to all season. According to News OK’s Erik Horne, this may have played a role in his release.
The Thunder and Abrines agreed to mutually part so the 25-year-old could best devote attention to his personal matter which has forced him to miss 19 of the last 22 games. Abrines did not dress for the Thunder’s Dec. 25 game against Houston due to what the team called an illness, then missed 17 consecutive games with what was categorized as a “personal matter.”
Obviously, missing nearly 20 games barely over halfway through the campaign is a large portion of the season. When active and involved, Abrines brings an excellent outside stroke and scoring ability to a bench desperately in need of capable shooters. OKC was especially thin at shooting guard with him and the injured Andre Roberson both absent from the lineup.
“Obviously Alex has dealt with some personal issues and matters, and you just hope he can get through that, more for himself personally, and hopefully get back to playing,” head coach Billy Donovan said before Thursday’s game against Memphis. “You always try to remain hopeful that that can happen, but I don’t really have answer of whether or not that’s going to happen.”
