The Golden State Warriors royally botched the Kelly Oubre Jr. situation

April 27, 2021; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Kelly Oubre Jr. (12) during the first quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
April 27, 2021; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Kelly Oubre Jr. (12) during the first quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Golden State Warriors could’ve done something more to either retain Kelly Oubre Jr. or complete a sign-and-trade, at least using his contract value as an asset. Neither happened, and it’s a situation they’ll look back on with regret.

Last offseason, once the Warriors found out that Klay Thompson went down with another season-ending injury, they decided to forego taking the season off and try to actually put together a competent roster.

With the Hornets having signed Kelly Oubre Jr., his time with the Golden State Warriors is officially over, marking the end of a weird era.

Adding Kelly Oubre Jr. was one of the major steps they took as he was expected to fill that starting shooting guard role. Oubre Jr. had already been traded from Phoenix to Oklahoma City before being dealt against to Golden State.

His numbers in Phoenix were solid. He averaged a career-high 18.7 points per game. Now, it’s key to understand his role as he was tasked with finding lanes and getting open. Devin Booker had a career-high in assists per game with Oubre Jr. by his side.

In Golden State, with the ball surrounding Stephen Curry and his movement, Oubre Jr. struggled. His three-point shooting took a major blow. He did still average 15.4 points per game but his shooting dropped to 44 percent.

Oubre Jr. certainly showed enough to warrant the Warriors paying to bring him back. They didn’t have much cap space, but letting him walk seems like a $60 million waste. The negatives of letting him walk, as NBC Sports’ Brian Witt noted, made for a confusing situation.

It’s been an odd offseason in that regard as the market for Oubre Jr. was unknown.

With the Hornets, he should have a great fit, so we’ll see how they manage. Either way, Golden State should have no problem with Oubre Jr., as it was always clear he was more valuable than the Warriors could afford.

It’s sad to him go, but it’s more confusing how it happened.

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That said, they’ll now have the MLE to use, if they want to use the around $6 million given how deep they are already in the luxury tax. With forward Andre Iguodala having signed for the veteran’s minimum, it’s not known who the Warriors may target with that exception.