The Sixers are expected to sign 27-year-old lefty wing Kelly Oubre Jr. to a one-year contract, a source confirmed Monday night to NBC Sports Philadelphia.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the news. PHLY Sports’ Derek Bodner reported that Oubre’s deal is for the veteran’s minimum.
Oubre averaged a career-high 20.3 points per game last season in a high-usage role for the Hornets. There’s no doubt he can score. The Kansas product’s length (7-foot-2 wingspan) and athleticism are valuable defensively, too. According to Cleaning the Glass, Oubre has been above league average in steal rate for his position each season since his rookie year.
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Efficiency, consistency and passing are certainly not considered among Oubre’s strengths. He posted just 1.1 assists per game last season over 48 contests and converted 31.9 percent of his three-point tries. Oubre is a career 33.0 percent shooter from long range and 35.2 percent is his best mark for a season.
It's been quite a while since Oubre experienced playoff basketball. His only NBA playoff action is 18 postseason appearances for the Wizards over the 2016-17 and ’17-18 seasons. Regardless of how the saga of James Harden's trade request concludes, the Sixers believe they'll be a playoff team for a seventh consecutive season and aim to contend for a championship behind reigning MVP Joel Embiid.
Once they officially add Oubre, the Sixers’ roster will be at 21 players, which is the offseason limit. They must trim down to 18 — 15 and three players on two-way contracts — by the start of the regular season. Other wings in the mix include Danuel House Jr., Furkan Korkmaz and Danny Green (non-guaranteed contract). Georges Niang and Jalen McDaniels were notable free agent departures.
New Sixers head coach Nick Nurse will work to sort through his options when the team begins training camp on Oct. 3 at Colorado State University.