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On the surface, Kelly Oubre Jr. looks like a hire – a heavily taxed one-year option to fill the gap left by Klay Thompson and maximize the Golden State Warriors’ chances of making it into the 2020-21 NBA season.
But he hopes it’s more than that.
Oubre hasn’t donned a Dubs jersey yet, and he’s already singing the praises of the organization, noting how nice it is to be in a successful and functional place. He only knows NBA life about the Washington Wizards and the Phoenix Suns, and neither team is a guarantee of success or functionalism.
In an interview with 95.7 The Game, Oubre explained that he was happy to play for “someone who really cares about the organization”.
This will be Oubre’s sixth professional season and his third team – or his fourth, if you want to include the Oklahoma City Thunder, who traded for the wing just a week ago to send him back to the Warriors. And while his contract will expire at the end of the season, Oubre is finally in a functional and competitive set-up, and he looks set to unwrap.
On a conference call with reporters, Oubre said he can see himself calling the Bay Area back home, although he understands it’s a business and it’s not always that easy.
Kelly Oubre, who is on an expiring deal, on having long-term potential in the Warriors: “I’m optimistic. I see myself really able to fit in and make this place a home.”
– Connor Letourneau (@Con_Chron) November 23, 2020
Oubre said he sees himself fitting in and making Golden State his home, but “at the end of the day it’s a business.”
“It’s a great opportunity for me to come with great players and fit in with them.”
– Wes Goldberg (@wcgoldberg) November 23, 2020
There’s no question that Oubre is a formidable long-term adjustment with the Warriors. In a healthy Dubs team, he would make a dynamic and versatile sixth man. Or he could easily play the role of a small starting striker if Andrew Wiggins were to be traded.
The only potential problem is the money. Oubre is owed $ 14.4 million this year, and that number would cost the Warriors over $ 60 million in taxes if the league met its revenue targets (they won’t, but it’s a decent barometer for seasons to come). He’ll play a big role with a competent Warriors squad, which will likely increase his value in the league, and he’ll enter free agency the next offseason at just 25.
In other words, he’s likely to command a pretty dime, and that pretty dime is essentially quadrupled for a Warriors team that already owe Thompson, Wiggins, Steph Curry and Draymond Green over $ 139 million next year.
By being ready to take the huge fiscal impact to trade for Oubre this year – even with Thompson out for the season with a ripped Achilles – Joe Lacob makes it clear that he will continue to shell out big bucks if he’s productive. One would assume that he will be ready to spend that money again next year, when the Warriors have presumably a better fighting chance, with a healthy Thompson, a more developed James Wiseman and a full year in the system. under the belt. by Wiggins.
So Golden State spending money to keep Oubre wouldn’t be shocking, even if it would result in a historic tax payment. The Warriors have secured the Oubre’s Bird rights in trade, which means that even if they are well over the salary cap and can only offer minimum contracts and exceptions to free agents outside the organization, they can extend any offers Oubre in free agency, all the way up to a maximum contract.
We are far from it. How Oubre plays, how he fits into the squad, and how good (or bad) the Warriors are will go a long way in determining whether his future is in San Francisco.
But he wants it to be, and it’s a good start.
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