Report: Oubre, Knicks have mutual interest in free agency originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Kelly Oubre’s future is one of the biggest questions the Warriors face heading into the offseason.
While Golden State has been open about its desire to retain Oubre, there will be a number of teams chasing the 25-year-old this summer, including the New York Knicks as Marc Berman of The New York Post reported Monday, citing a source, that there is mutual interest between Oubre and the Knicks.
The Knicks were just bounced out of the playoffs in five games by the Atlanta Hawks in a series in which their lack of quality wing play was highlighted. New York has a big need for a starting small forward to place on the wing opposite of 2019 No. 3 overall pick RJ Barrett, and Oubre could give the Knicks a slashing forward who can defend multiple positions and knock down 3-pointers.
Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers has said Oubre expressed his desire to return to the Warriors, although it is unclear if the Kansas product would be willing to take a bench role with Klay Thompson set to return next season.
After a rough first 19 games as a Warrior, Oubre averaged 17.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists over his final 36 games, while shooting 47.4 percent overall and 36.3 percent from beyond the arc.
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The Warriors have Oubre’s Bird Rights, which means they can go over the salary cap to re-sign him. However, it’s unclear how much the Warriors, who already will be in the luxury tax, are willing to spend on a new contract for Oubre.
But the Warriors also wouldn’t want to lose Oubre as an asset for nothing, as re-signing him gives them a trade chip which is one of the few ways they have to improve the team around Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Thompson.
The Knicks are projected to have around $67 million in cap space this summer, per Spotrac, so they’d be able to give Oubre a lucrative deal that could be too rich for the Warriors to match.
NBA free agency begins Aug. 6.