NBA Rumors: Thunder to sign Alex Abrines to three-year deal
By Tom West
The Oklahoma City Thunder are expanding their core of shooters by signing Spanish small forward Alex Abrines to a three-year, $18 million deal.
With the loss of Kevin Durant, to none other than their Western Conference rival Golden State Warriors, the Oklahoma City Thunder were sent tumbling down the NBA power rankings immediately. OKC may never get over his departure and there are no moves they can make in free agency to try and recover from losing one of the best scorers in history.
Instead, they can do their best to address the roster in any way they can, while pondering whether or not they should pull the trigger and trade Russell Westbrook to avoid losing another superstar for nothing next summer.
If we put that aside for one moment, though, the Thunder are signing Spanish 6’6″ small forward Alex Abrines, according to EuroHoops:
"Alex Abrines and Oklahoma City Thunder have a deal. The Spanish forward has agreed to terms for a three year contract which will pay him near $18 million in total."
Even though Abrines is yet to play in the NBA, $6 million per year is a reasonable salary in the new market for someone the Thunder hope can help them immediately with his 3-point shooting.
He was drafted by the Thunder in 2013 with the 32nd overall pick, a pick acquired in the James Harden trade, and now comes over from Spain after winning the Rising Star trophy last season.
Abrines is under contract with FC Barcelona through 2019, which means a $2.2 million buyout was needed to bring him to the NBA now. The Thunder were only allowed to pay $650,000, though, so Abrines will use his first load of NBA money to help cover the rest himself (another incentive for OKC to offer him a respectable $18 million deal).
More than anything else after the loss of Durant and floor spacing power forward Serge Ibaka, the Thunder will look to Abrines for his 3-point stroke. He has a smooth release, stepped beyond the shorter European arc consistently to showcase NBA range, adjusts his body well when running off screens and shot 41.7 percent from deep last season.
While the Westbrook trade question will continue to dominate the headlines for the foreseeable future, fans can at least look forward to a young shooting prospect to help on the wing in limited minutes.