The Kelly Oubre Jr. experiment in Golden State hasn’t gone well, but he seems to believe his stock is still high.
On paper, it seemed like Oubre would fit perfectly in the Warriors’ high-octane offense. He’s a “three-and-D” guy who can run the floor well and stretch the perimeter — opening everything up for Steph Curry and James Wiseman. And so it made perfect sense that the Warriors would trade for Oubre, giving up draft capital — two picks in this year’s draft — to do so.
But the move simply has not panned out, with Oubre looking lost on defensive end, as a major liability on that side of the floor. Not only that, he hasn’t shot the ball particularly well, at 31.6 percent from three-point range, and 43.9 percent from the floor. The Warriors signed him to be a starter, with Klay Thompson sidelined for the season with an Achilles injury, but Oubre showed he wasn’t capable of playing big minutes. He averaged only 15.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
And yet, his camp seems to believe he’s worth $20 million per year for a contract in the near future, and that he’ll get that in free agency this summer, which Michael Scotto stated on the HoopsHype podcast.
Oubre was playing out a two-year, $30 million deal, but he certainly wasn’t worth that in his role for the Warriors this season, so it’s hard to see him getting any decent offer from Golden State. He’ll likely need to test the market.
