When the Oklahoma City Thunder open the regular season on Wednesday, they will be without one of the rookies who impressed during training camp and preseason.
Theo Maledon, the No. 34 pick in the draft, will not be with the team due to personal reasons, head coach Mark Daigneault said.
Daigneault did not go into further detail.
Maledon scored 20 points against the San Antonio Spurs in the first preseason game and then 11 against the Chicago Bulls in game No. 2. He did not play in the final game.
The rights to the 19-year-old were acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers in a draft day trade. Maledon has played professionally in since 2017.
In the most recent season, with ASVEL in the top French league, Maledon averaged 6.5 points, 1.9 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 15.6 minutes per game with ASVEL.
In EuroLeague, he posted 7.4 points and 3.1 assists in 17.7 minutes, and increased his shooting percentages to a respectable 45.6% from the field and 36.7% from 3.
Maledon and Ty Jerome (left ankle sprain) will both be absent for the season opener against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, Daigneault said on Tuesday.
This will leave George Hill, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort and Hamidou Diallo as the primary guard options.
Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Toyota Center in Houston.
[lawrence-related id=440042,440024]