The Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings have been linked this summer given the entire Jonathan Kuminga free agency saga, with talks between the two teams on a sign-and-trade dying down in recent weeks.
While not directly involving the Warriors, the Kings had also recently emerged as a potential suitor for their former wing in Kelly Oubre Jr. NBA insider Jake Fischer reported last Friday that the Philadelphia 76ers were looking at moving on from either Oubre or veteran center Andre Drummond, allowing them the space to re-sign Quentin Grimes who remains as the other restricted free agent alongside Kuminga.
The Kings reportedly aren’t interested in former Warrior Kelly Oubre Jr.
Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey proposed four destinations that could make sense for Oubre following Fischer’s report, including both the Warriors and Kings alongside the Denver Nuggets and the Orlando Magic.
A potential swap of Oubre for another former Warrior in Dario Saric began to grow in speculation, causing Dave Carmichael of Sactown Sports 1140 to move and completely shut down the rumors on Thursday.
“I have been told that it is just completely and totally fabricated, like no talks at all…”@CarmichaelDave shuts down the rumors about the Sacramento Kings being involved in trade talks to acquire disgruntled Philadelphia 76ers forward Kelly Oubre. pic.twitter.com/nZu5PRyCZ4
https://twitter.com/Sactown1140/status/1966173696932077901?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
In one aspect the Kings are doing themselves a favor by steering clear of a player whose impact on winning has been questionable throughout his 10-year career to date.
The Warriors certainly found out rather quickly that Oubre was not a long-term fit for them, having initially spent tens of millions of dollars in luxury tax to acquire the 6’8″ wing in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder just prior to the 2020-21 season.
Oubre averaged 15.4 points and 6.0 rebounds in his lone year with Golden State, but he also finished with the lowest plus-minus on a team that got significantly better after his season was cut short by a wrist injury.
On the other hand Warrior fans may only laugh at the fact the Kings seemingly have no interest in Oubre, yet have gone aggressively after another score-first forward whose fit in the Bay has been questioned.
If Sacramento thinks Kuminga can fit into their core which currently includes the likes of Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Keegan Murray, then why wouldn’t they view Oubre in a similar light?
It goes to show you that teams are still willing to take a risk and gamble on Kuminga’s youth and upside, particularly after the 22-year-old led Golden State in scoring during their second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It remains unlikely that the Kings actually pull off a trade for Kuminga this offseason, with the Warriors remaining steadfast on re-signing him despite their unwillingness to go beyond a two-year, $45 million offer that comes with a second year team option.
