The Oklahoma City Thunder will have to look outside the locker room for a much-needed dose of three-point shooting leading up to the playoffs. The team announced on Friday that it has waived third-year guard Alex Abrines.

The 25-year-old has played in just two games since December 23rd when the Thunder announced he was stepping away from the team indefinitely to deal with a personal matter. Though Oklahoma City offered no explanation for his release, ESPN's Royce Young reports that the decision was one mutually agreed upon by both the team and Abrines so he can focus on attending to the issue at hand absent the distractions of basketball.

Drafted with the 23rd overall pick of the 2013 draft, Abrines made his NBA debut in 2016 after several seasons starring for F.C. Barcelona. He never quite lived up to the hype with the Thunder, beset by below-average physical tools that made him an imminent defensive liability and a lack of consistency to his jumper. Abrines wasn't a true knockdown shooter in Oklahoma City, shooting an unspectacular 36.8 percent from beyond the arc overall.

This isn't a major loss for Billy Donovan's team, but still, one that needs to be addressed. Though Abdel Nader and Hamidou Diallo are both good enough to offset any negative effects of Abrines' release for the remainder of the regular season, expect general manager Sam Presti to scour the buy-out market for a sharpshooter leading up to the playoffs. The Thunder need all the space they can get to free up driving lanes for Paul George and Russell Westbrook, and beyond the inconsistent Terrence Ferguson, lack rotation-ready wings who command respect beyond the arc.