Pacers, Kelly Oubre Agree To Two-Year Deal

Oubre’s new contract will be fully guaranteed, without a player or team option on the second year, reports Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Oubre has been a jack-of-all-trades contributor for the Sixers over the past three seasons, starting 150 of 178 games during his time in Philadelphia. He has averaged at least 14 points and five rebounds per game in each of those seasons, and his size (6’8″) and wingspan (7’2″) are assets on the defensive end, where he has averaged 1.5 steals per night since the start of 2024/25.

Oubre hasn’t historically been a consistent, reliable three-point shooter, but he did set a career high this past season by making 36.0% of his attempts from beyond the arc.

The Pacers were one of several teams Oubre was said to be meeting with after free agency opened on Tuesday, along with the 76ers, Lakers, and Trail Blazers, among others. Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal reported at the time that a deal in the range of two years and $16.5MM was a possibility for Indiana and Oubre.

According to Afseth, the Pacers are high on the veteran wing due to a belief that his ability to run in the open court, operate as an off-ball slasher offensively, and guard multiple positions defensively make him an ideal fit in their system. It also likely doesn’t hurt that Oubre shares an agent with star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, as Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files observes (via Twitter).

The Pacers figure to sign Oubre using a portion of their non-taxpayer mid-level exception, per Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Twitter links), who notes that the team now projects to be over the tax line by about $6.5MM and is just $1.6MM below a first-apron hard cap with 14 players under contract. Indiana hasn’t been a taxpayer since 2006 but is on track to do so in 2027 if the front office doesn’t look to cut costs during the offseason or at the trade deadline.

The Sixers have now lost both Oubre and Quentin Grimes in free agency while reaching deals to sign Dean Wade and Ariel Hukporti. As Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports tweets, Philadelphia could have offered Oubre the same contract he got from Indiana, though it would’ve pushed the team’s salary into tax territory.