4. Kelly Oubre Jr.
After a long wait this offseason, Kelly Oubre Jr. has finally found a home in signing a one-year free agent deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. In doing so he returns to a championship-aspiring team, although one with plenty of headaches at the moment given the ongoing conjecture surrounding former MVP James Harden.
Oubre is a talented player, there’s little doubt about that. You don’t average 20+ points over the course of a season without having ability. However, the impact on winning has always been the question mark on the 27-year-old.
Although the 2020-21 Warriors failed to make the playoffs, they were a team wanting the same level of success as this 76er team. After his acquisition from the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2020 offseason, Oubre was a key part of a Golden State team that was minus Klay Thompson.
Oubre put up numbers but he was never a stylistic fit in a Steve Kerr-led system. Following his departure in 2021, he’s put up career-high numbers in Charlotte while Golden State went on to win the 2022 NBA championship and reach the second-round of the playoffs in 2023.
The 6’7” wing will be an interesting watch this season in a success-starved city where the pressure is always high. Will Philly fans grow frustrated of Oubre like their Warrior counterparts did, or could he prove a valuable pickup who helps them push into the depths of the postseason?