The Golden Warriors State have been linked to a potential trade reunion with an athletic former forward.
Per Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report, the Warriors number among the top candidates who could potentially land Kelly Oubre Jr. in a future trade.
“Familiarity is at least a part of why the Golden State Warriors are here,” Bailey indicated.
Could a Warriors reunion make sense for both Oubre, Golden State?
It’s fascinating that Golden State has been linked to Oubre, as he’s the exact kind of athletic forward the team already has a younger, higher-upside version on its roster already in restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga.
But conversations with Kuminga over his next contract have not been going well.
Per Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, the 6-foot-8 forward is leaning towards just taking his $7.9 million qualifying offer so he can hit unrestricted free agency next summer, when several more clubs will have cap space than they did this offseason.
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Oubre could represent an interesting potential replacement option, should Golden State somehow manage to find a way to ditch Kuminga via a sign-and-trade this summer.
The 6-foot-8 pro, now 29, suited up for the Warriors during their ill-fated 2020-21 season, averaging 15.4 points on .439/.316/.695 shooting splits, 6.0 boards, 1.3 dimes, 1.0 steals and 0.8 blocks in 55 games (50 starts).
He’s currently on the expiring second season of a pretty reasonable two-year, $16.4 million deal he agreed to last summer with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Last year on a banged-up Philadelphia squad, he put up similar numbers — 15.1 points while slashing .470/.293/.751, 6.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals in 60 games.
“While the impact metrics from his season in the Bay Area aren’t good, the Warriors need more punch off the bench and currently only have nine players under contract,” Bailey writes.
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“Fans would likely hope for a little more efficient use of the team’s trade exception, but that could make acquiring Oubre relatively easy,” Bailey notes.
Golden State currently has an $8.8 million trade exception into which it could add Oubre. His athleticism and ability to drive inside seem like they could help the Warriors off the bench while freeing up Golden State’s cadre of sharpshooting guards.
“At least in theory, a downhill scoring threat like Oubre should be able to pull some defenses inward and away from shooters like Stephen Curry, Buddy Hield and Brandin Podziemski,” Bailey observes.
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