Busy summer primes OKC Thunder’s Alex Abrines for big season

It has been a busy summer for the OKC Thunder and players, but nobody experienced more change than Alex Abrines both on and off the court.

The past five months has been one of, if not the, most critical time in Alex Abrines’ life. In addition to getting married and hosting youth camps in Spain, Abrines has spent a lot of time with assistant coach Darko Rajakovic working on his game. And it was time well divided.

With one year left on his current contract, Abrines has some work to do if he wants to stick around. Last year was a perfect opportunity for him to thrive with a thin bench and the eventual injury to Andre Roberson. But instead of seizing the opportunity, Abrines saw his season averages dip from bad to worse. With Billy Donovan searching for answers, Abrines averaged 4.6 points per game in 15 minutes of playing time.

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Despite his two underwhelming seasons, there’s still time right the ship. Abrines was only part of a much larger problem with the bench, and in all fairness, he didn’t have a lot of help around him playing with the second unit.

With the bench has received a face lift, it’s now or never for Abrines.

With that being said, his life-changing summer should translate to more success on the court. We shouldn’t knock Abrines for taking time to better his personal life by getting married, and every player should take time to help out in the community.

In many ways, personal happiness translates to more success on the floor.

The season is long and demanding, physically and mentally. And judging by the feature from Nick Gallo, Abrines did as much as he could with his time off. He took care of himself, his family and his community.

Now it’s time to prove his worth. Will the sharpshooter thrive in the revamped second unit or will this be his last year in OKC? For everyone’s sake, I hope to see his potential fulfilled with the Thunder.