Alex Abrines, who had missed 19 of Oklahoma City's previous 22 games, was released before Saturday's game against the Rockets, a move considered a mutual decision to allow him to deal with a personal issue.
"My main focus and concern is Alex. He's a great guy. We loved working with him. We had a lot of communication with him through this with a lot of contact. I couldn't be prouder of the way our guys handled the situation.
"He started dealing with this right around Christmas when we were here in Houston. He dealt with the stomach flu and it led into some personal issues he was dealing with.