NBA Trade Rumors: With Klay Thompson Out, Warriors Turn To Kelly Oubre To Save The Day

Klay Thompson is officially out for another NBA season and the Golden State Warriors needed to act fast. So they did.

The Warriors have explored potential free agent targets and have identified Kelly Oubre Jr. as the logical choice to fill the void.

Golden State and the Oklahoma City Thunder are in talks for the 24-year-old swingman with the Warriors using the Andre Iguodala trade exception to consummate the deal, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported.

Because of the trade exception, the Warriors do not have to include a player in the deal. However, the Thunder are likely to ask for draft picks as they continue with their team rebuilding efforts.

As of this writing, the Thunder already have 15 first-round picks. A buyout or waiving the NBA veteran are also possibilities.

Oubre becomes the latest player acquired by the Thunder who will not play a single game for the team. The 15th overall pick of the 2015 Draft was part of the Chris Paul trade.

Danny Green was also previously acquired but ended up getting dealt with the Philadelphia 76ers for Al Horford and a couple of picks. This was covered in a previous post.

As far as Oubre is concerned, they would absorb the $14.4 million salary into their $17.2 million trade exception once the deal is sealed, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweeted.

Oubre should fit in perfectly for the Dubs, not only filling in the void left by Thompson but also giving head coach Steve Kerr some added flexibility on both ends of the court.

Last season, Oubre played in 56 games for the Phoenix Suns averaging 18.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 34.5 minutes of action. He also owns a 51.1 percent field goal shooting clip and 35.2 percent from the three-point region.

Seeing that it will be Oubre’s final year in his contract, he is expected to give it his all and prove to the Warriors and other organizations that he deserves a pay raise starting the 2021-22 season.

According to Warrior general manager Bob Myers, Golden State may make more moves following Thompson’s injury. He hinted at these moves after the Dubs picked James Wiseman as the team’s No.2 pick at the 2020 NBA Draft, NBC Sports reported.