The Philadelphia 76ers are facing down the barrel of elimination after falling behind 3-0 to the New York Knicks in their second-round series, but former Golden State Warriors forward Kelly Oubre Jr. has been a positive for the franchise despite three-straight losses.
Oubre is making his claim at the ideal time for a healthy new contract in free agency, playing a significant role during the playoffs including in Friday's 108-94 loss in Game 3 at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Kelly Oubre Jr. is making a strong claim just ahead of free agency
Oubre led the 76ers with 22 points and eight rebounds in nearly 36 minutes on Friday, but perhaps that's not the best thing and is reflective of underwhelming games from the quartet of Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, Paul George and V.J. Edgecombe.
The former Warrior ranked fifth at the 76ers for points per game during the regular season, yet is now averaging the second-most points during this series at an efficient 50% shooting from the floor and 46.2% from 3-point range.
It's a big turnaround for Oubre who had 19 points in nearly 40 minutes during the Game 2 loss, but who averaged just 9.3 points on 16% 3-point shooting during their thrilling seven-game first-round series win over the Boston Celtics.
Oubre has gone from a genuine trade candidate last offseason and before February's mid-season deadline, to one of Philadelphia's most important players ahead of hitting the market again this summer.
Kelly Oubre Jr. could land one more big deal in free agency this offseason
After playing on a minimum contract with the 76ers in the 2023-24 season, Oubre signed a two-year, $16.4 million deal to remain with the franchise where he's started all but 28 of his 178 games in the past three years.
At 30-years-old, Oubre would still consider himself in the prime of his career and capable of obtaining at least one more significant multi-year deal. Whether that's with the 76ers or not remains to be seen, but you'd think there's some rival teams who will have some interest considering his size and two-way ability.
Ironically, Golden State could do with a 6'8" forward after trading away Jonathan Kuminga, and after losing Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody to injury. It would be genuinely shocking though if either party was interested in a reunion, such was Oubre's tough season with the franchise in the 2020-21 season.
Oubre averaged 15.4 points and 6.0 rebounds in his 55 games for the Warriors, but shot just 31.6% from 3-point range and finished with the worst cumulative plus-minus of any player on the team.
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