NBA Rumors: At least for now, there’s a good chance the Miami Heat ends up signing Kelly Oubre Jr.
The start of NBA Training Camps is just around the corner. In fact, they officially open for every team across the league in roughly three weeks. But with the official start of the pre-season on the horizon, there is still one key free agent on the open market – Kelly Oubre Jr.
Coming off a season in which he averaged 20 points and five rebounds per game, I’m not sure many envisioned the 27-year-old to still be on the open market more than two months into the free agency period. Nevertheless, with pretty much all the free-agency money dried up, it’s more about finding the right role and landing spot for Oubre.
According to a recent report, the right role and landing spot for Oubre could be the Miami Heat. Per Marc Stein, they’re considered the favorites to land Oubre at this point. It’s important to note that attached to that report is the “if the Heat gets Lillard” qualifier.
Even though there are many who believe the Heat will eventually land Lillard via trade, I’m still not sure how to handle this “report.”
Quite frankly, you can’t help but wonder if this ends up similar to the Christian Wood situation with the Heat. There were reports that Wood was set or hoping to sign with Miami after the Lillard trade. The Lillard trade never materialized and Wood eventually decided to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Will the Damian Lillard saga thwart another free agent’s plans?
With the start of camp in a matter of a few weeks, you can’t help but wonder if that will have any impact on Oubre and his decision. I suppose the big question is whether Oubre is willing to wait until there’s a Lillard resolution or if he’ll just end up taking a deal he has in hand (if Miami hasn’t officially made an offer).
At this point, there’s no guarantee that there will be a Lillard resolution between now and the start of training camp, much less the start of the actual season. I suppose the big question is, how much is that truly impacting Oubre’s decision?
Oubre would help Miami reconstruct their supporting cast in the event of a Lillard trade, there’s no question about it. Even Lillard aside, it would be intriguing to see a talented player such as Oubre enter the Heat’s developmental program. At just 27 years old, perhaps he has another level he can get to. And if there’s any team that can get him there, it’s the Heat.