The Sacramento Kings have been unable to reach an agreement on a sign-and-trade deal for Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga, but there’s someone else they might want to consider.
NBA insider Jake Fischer reports that the Philadelphia 76ers have explored trades for Kelly Oubre Jr. and Andre Drummond in order to create the salary cap space they need to re-sign restricted free agent Quentin Grimes.
Oubre, 29, is a 6-foot-8 forward who could help the Kings address their lack of wing depth less than three weeks before training camp begins on Sept. 29. Oubre, a 10-year NBA veteran, has predominantly played small forward during his career, but he logged 40% of his minutes at power forward last season, according to Basketball Reference.
“There has been buzz all summer long about the Sixers looking to potentially move one of, if not both, Andre Drummond and Kelly Oubre,” Fischer said. “If they are able to find a deal for one of these two guys as we get closer to camp, that would open up some wiggle room for Philadelphia to be able to pay Grimes a little bit more.”
Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey identified four teams, including the Kings, as potential suitors for Oubre. Bailey proposed a deal that would bring Oubre to Sacramento in exchange for Dario Saric, who was acquired in the trade that sent Jonas Valanciunas to the Denver Nuggets.
“Dario Saric certainly isn’t the player he was when he last suited up for the 76ers back in 2018, but a reunion would be fun,” Bailey wrote. “... For the Sacramento Kings, a swap involving Saric and Oubre would leave them awfully thin at center, but they could also use a scoring boost on the second unit. And Oubre is a lot more likely to provide that.”
Oubre will earn $8.2 million this season in the final year of a two-year, $16.4 million contract. Saric will make $5.4 million in the final year of a two-year, $10.6 million deal.
Oubre is an athletic wing with a 7-foot-2 wingspan. He isn’t the most efficient 3-pointer shooter, but he is a proven scorer who uses his length and athleticism to create deflections and turnovers on the defensive end of the floor.
Oubre has career averages of 13.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals while shooting 43.8% from the field and 32.5% from 3-point range. He appeared in 60 games with 57 starts for Philadelphia last season, putting up 15.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals while hitting 47% from the field and 29.3% from long distance.