Much ado about nothing. That phrase, ripped from the title of a famous play written by William Shakespeare, has stuck in my mind this season when it comes to Golden State Warriors forward Kelly Oubre Jr.
The Warriors traded a first round pick in the NBA Draft to acquire Oubre before the season started, and the idea was that he could replace part of what Golden State lost when star guard Klay Thompson suffered a season-ending injury on draft day.
But Oubre is a free agent at this year’s end. In all likelihood, he was slated to be short-term fix. Now, with bad injury news regarding Oubre’s left wrist, the end to his tenure in Golden State could arrive sooner than expected.
Per Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle, Oubre has a torn ligament in his left wrist and a fracture on his palm. He recently missed two games with the nagging wrist injury, which kept him out an additional five games a little more than a week ago.
The Chronicle reports that Oubre is meeting with specialists to see if he can play through the injury. I’m not a doctor, but that sounds unlikely, especially with Oubre’s impending free agency. It’s very possible we’ve seen the last of Oubre in a Golden State uniform.
He’s likely to have contract offers from other teams that can not only pay him more (the Warriors’ salary cap is stretched to the max), but can also offer him a starting role.
Oubre has been the subject of much consternation amongst Warriors fans and observers this season, especially after he got off to a terrible, awkward start with the team. He couldn’t have played worse to start the season, but coach Steve Kerr stuck with him and he’s averaged 15.4 points on 43.9 percent shooting (31.6% from 3-point range), six rebounds and 1.3 assists in 55 games.
Still, he never quite delivered on what was expected. And now, he’s likely gone, if not immediately, soon. Perhaps the improbable will happen and he’ll re-sign with the Warriors, but as it appears right now, Oubre’s career in Golden State was a lot of sizzle and very little steak.
(Photo credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)
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