OKC Thunder: Has Alex Abrines Done Enough To Trade Anthony Morrow?
Alex Abrines was signed by the OKC Thunder at the start of the season as a three-point marksman. Does this spell the end for Anthony Morrow?
Alex Abrines has only played 12 games in the NBA for the Oklahoma City Thunder. In that time he has averaged 13.9 minutes, 5.0 points, 1.3 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 0.3 steals per game. These are not earth-shattering numbers by any stretch of the imagination.
His slash line is .365/.324/.909. These are not earth-shattering numbers either.
However, compared to Anthony Morrow’s numbers, they are positively MVP worthy. Morrow has only played in seven games and in those games, he has averaged 2.3 points, 0.4 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.3 steals and 0.1 blocks in 6.4 minutes per game. His slash line is .421/.000/.000. Morrow has not hit a three-point attempt of the six that he has taken this season.
The fact that Morrow has only played 45 minutes of basketball in the NBA season is telling. His job for Oklahoma City for the past two seasons has been to come on as a sharpshooter from three. He has a career percentage of of 42.3 from beyond the arc, which is good enough to be top 100 all-time in the league.
It appears that head coach Billy Donovan has no faith in Morrow’s defense, which it has to be said is not at a Kawhi Leonard level. In fact, I would say that they were closer to Enes Kanter levels.
Morrow burst into the league in 2008-09 after being signed by the Golden State Warriors. He went undrafted. His 46.7 percent from three led the entire league. He made 86 of 184 three pointers in his first season.
Unfortunately for Morrow, he has never reached the same heights since then. After his rookie season heroics, Morrow was entrusted with more shots, making 140 of 307 from three at 45.6 percent.
Morrow was then traded to the New Jersey Nets, now the Brooklyn Nets. It was here that his three-point shooting percentage dropped below 40 percent. In the two seasons he made 216 of 546 for a percentage of 39.6. Not a bad mark but remembering how much Morrow struggles on defense he needs to have close to the highest percentage in the NBA to be worth putting on the court.
The 2012-13 season saw Morrow play with the Atlanta Hawks and the Dallas Mavericks where he made a combined 16 of 43 in 37 games. This is only 37.2 percent from three, which does not justify his time on the court.
After a career revival in 2013-14 with the New Orleans Pelicans where he shot 88 of 195 (45.1 percent), he signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder for three years.
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In the first season, Scott Brooks used Morrow as a floor spacer and Morrow responded. He made 141 of 325 for 43.4 percent on the season. Unfortunately for Morrow, Brooks was replaced by Donovan and it appears that Donovan prefers players who can actually defend.
There is the Kanter exception because of his high percentage offense and rebounding. However, even Kanter only gets just over 18.1 minutes per game.
Under Donovan, Morrow went from playing 24.4 minutes per game the year before to just 13.6 last year. His shooting suffered as a result. He hit 79 of 204 long range attempts, which is a very human 38.7 percent. Not enough to justify his poor defense.
Morrow is also coming to the end of his three-year deal with Oklahoma City. His contract for this year is worth just under $3.5 million. If Abrines can improve his three-point shooting to get closer to the percentage he was shooting in Europe, I think that Oklahoma City will try and trade Morrow.
The last three seasons in Europe, Abrines was playing for Barcelona. In that time he hit 254 of 598, which is 42.5 percent.
So far the sample size in the NBA is small for Abrines. He is also trying to find his way in a team with massive roster and identity changes from last season. Coach Donovan is giving Abrines the best possible opportunity to get his shot going, giving him the green light to shoot. Of his 12 games, Abrines has taken more than six three-point attempts in three of them.
These games are equal to what Morrow has shot from three for the entire season. The difference is that Abrines has made at least one in every game he’s shot that many.
If Morrow has fallen so far down the Oklahoma City bench that he is barely playing, then it’s time to get something for him. There are a heap of NBA teams who would like a three-point marksman and let’s not forget that Oklahoma City needs a small forward.
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