Veteran forward Kelly Oubre looks like the Warriors‘ top trade candidate, and he certainly didn’t hurt his value in his last game before the deadline, putting up 24 points and 10 rebounds on Tuesday in a loss to Philadelphia. With today’s deadline looming, head coach Steve Kerr praised Oubre for the way he has taken the trade rumors in stride, as Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes.
“I love Kelly,” Kerr said. “He’s a pro. We’ve talked a lot about his circumstances, being a free agent, having his name tossed around. It’s not an easy position to be in. But this is how it works. This is the NBA. He’s got an expiring deal, plays a position of need for a lot of teams. He’s athletic and long. He’s coveted. He’s definitely coveted. So his name is naturally going to be out there. He’s done a great job of handling everything. He’s really professional and poised and practical. So we’ll see what happens.”
Slater says he gets the sense that the Warriors want to be able to do something with Oubre’s salary slot in future seasons, as opposed to just letting him walk for nothing this offseason and not being able to replace him due to their cap situation. It remains to be seen whether that means ultimately investing in a longer-term agreement with Oubre or flipping him for another player today.
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- Timberwolves forward Josh Okogie entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols on Wednesday night, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link). It’s unclear how long Okogie will have to remain in the protocols before being cleared.
- Mark Giannotto of The Memphis Commercial Appeal believes the Grizzlies need to make a big roster move at some point, but thinks it’s more likely to happen in the offseason or further down the road than at today’s deadline.
- Today’s trade deadline may be the most revealing pivot point for the Pelicans under the direction of head of basketball operations David Griffin, says Scott Kuschner of NOLA.com. In particular, the club’s decision on Lonzo Ball will provide a strong hint of the way in which New Orleans wants to build its roster around Zion Williamson.
- Some members of the Lakers organization are expected to receive the COVID-19 vaccine this week, sources tell Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. More teams are starting to get access to vaccinations, including New Orleans, Atlanta, Portland, and – most recently – the Heat (Twitter link via Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel).
Oubre is going to be tough to trade. Not Bledsoe tough, but Rodney Hood tough. Just hasn’t blossomed since leaving the Wiz.
Oubre will be easy to trade to a team because his contract expires. Warriors would like to keep him but its impossible to fit him under the cap because Oubre wants a very big contract in the off season.
What do you mean he hasn’t ‘blossomed’? His stats have improved since he left Washington.
He was hoped to be a lockdown 3 and D player. He isn’t that yet, and I can’t say I’d rather have him than Robert Covington, J.Crowder or Evan Fournier. Sure, he is markedly improved in the stat line for his career since the Wiz, but I wouldn’t call that blossoming. I’d be surprised to see a 1st if his offensive consistency doesn’t improve immediately. Depends what he is traded for.
His Defense is solid his problem is him trying to be a 3 point shooter. He needs to be like Simmons a slasher type scorer. When he is aggressive and slashing he is a force on the court.
Why couldn’t you get a 1st for him? You don’t see his kind of production from players taken in the 2nd round.
Depends what he is traded for. It has nothing to do with his #’s matching a 1st or 2nd stats out of college. The picks are what it would cost to acquire him after you have matched his salary. I’d throw my 1st at a lot of players in Oubre’s salary range before Oubre. So, if I want to trade him off my cap sheet I might have to settle on a 2nd. Or, in the case of the Knicks where they can nearly swallow Oubre’s whole deal, what does NY then pay on top of that? My gut says they wouldn’t offer more than a 2nd even if Barrett wasn’t there.
Can we please trade Draymond, free up cap space and moved Pascall or Chriss to his position. We get bigger and have someone who can score more than 5 points.
SFW18, clearly you should be the GM. Why keep a triple double defensive Specialist when a guy like Chriss is there. Who cares he’s out for the year with an injury? And Paschall has hardly played lately cuz he’s underperforming. But again, you could be the GM.