MARCH 22: The Suns have officially announced that Oubre underwent a procedure on his sprained left thumb, ruling him out for approximately four to six weeks.
MARCH 21: Suns forward Kelly Oubre is set to undergo a minor procedure on his left thumb, which will sideline him for the rest of the 2018/19 season, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The regular season will end in less than three weeks, and Oubre’s recovery projects to take about four to six weeks, per Wojnarowski.
Oubre will be a restricted free agent this summer and should be fully recovered well before he’s eligible to sign a new deal in July. As Wojnarowski observes, the 23-year-old’s play since arriving in Phoenix has also helped raise his stock as he prepares to enter free agency.
In 40 games for the Suns, Oubre has averaged 16.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 1.4 SPG in 29.5 minutes per contest. Since entering the starting lineup after the All-Star break, he has boosted those numbers to 20.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 2.1 SPG with a .469/.343/.750 shooting line in 12 games.
The Suns will have the right of first refusal on Oubre this offseason, assuming they issue him a qualifying offer, so they’d have the ability to match any offer sheet he signs. While Phoenix’s small forward spot is somewhat overcrowded, Oubre – who was acquired earlier this season in the swap that sent Trevor Ariza to D.C. – looks like a potential keeper.
With Oubre sidelined down the stretch and T.J. Warren still on the shelf too, Mikal Bridges and Josh Jackson should get the opportunity to play big minutes in Phoenix’s final 10 games.
They need to play Josh Jackson as much as they can to somewhat rebuild his trade value