Golden State Warriors: Kelly Oubre’s FA decision will be pivotal

It is hard to blame Kelly Oubre Jr. for seeking a big pay-day after his successful season with the Golden State Warriors. Nevertheless, Oubre’s free agency decision will be pivotal in marking which direction the Dubs fall next season.

The Golden State Warriors can’t do much but sit and wait to find out how Kelly Oubre Jr’s free agency decision will impact their future.

With limited cap space, the Dubs don’t have many avenues to improve this roster without overhauling everything via trade. Their best and most realistic bet at building a championship contender with minimum risk is honing in on the talent they already have on the roster.

Developing names such as James Wiseman, Jordan Poole and Juan Toscano-Anderson could all potentially turn into quality contributors over the summer. This leap, in tandem with Klay Thompson‘s return, would push the Dubs comfortably into the upper tier of the NBA.

And yet, that pipe dream goes out of the window pretty quickly if they lose Oubre this summer. The Warriors can only hope for so much growth out of those three players. In reality, the team needs to maintain some true talent at the top to compensate for a weak bench.

The path to building a strong second unit goes directly through Oubre. A versatile defender and three-level scorer, Oubre can fill in the Andre Iguodala mold of being a sixth man for the Warriors. That is, if he wants to remain in the Bay Area.

Oubre is seeking compensation for his last two career-high seasons. Truth be told, if he can find a bigger payday somewhere else, then more power to him. But, if Oubre wants to be a member of a gritty championship-contending squad, he should look no farther than Golden State.

The Warriors better be hoping Oubre opts for the latter — because their depth gets pretty thin with the loss of Oubre. As solid as Andrew Wiggins has been, the Warriors can not enter the 2021-22 NBA season with Wiggins as their sole contributor at the wing.

We haven’t gotten many indications of what Oubre will do this summer, but rest assured his decision will have an impact on how aggressive the Dubs pursue trades in the offseason. Losing Oubre means restricting their ability to keep this second dynasty homegrown.