Warriors reportedly nearing deal to acquire Kelly Oubre Jr. from Thunder

The Thunder are engaged in serious talks about a trade that would send Kelly Oubre to the Warriors, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The two sides are nearing an agreement, adds Adrian Wojnarowsi of ESPN (Twitter link).

It remains to be seen what the Thunder would acquire in a deal involving Oubre, but it’s a safe bet that GM Sam Presti would be looking to add at least one more future draft pick to his constantly growing collection of them.

A deal sending Oubre to Golden State would almost certainly see the Warriors absorb his $14.4M salary using the team’s $17.2M trade exception. That exception allows the Dubs to acquire up to $17.2M in salary without sending out any salary themselves.

Although a trade along these lines has long been the subject of speculation, it’s still a little surprising that the Warriors are willing to take on the increased tax bill that adding Oubre’s salary would create. As Bobby Marks of ESPN explains (via Twitter), based on current projections, Oubre would increase Golden State’s projected tax payment by about $68M, resulting in a total increase of over $82M after taking into account his actual salary.

The Warriors would likely get a bit of a break on that, since the NBA has said tax penalties will be reduced by the same amount that the league falls short of its revenue projection in 2020-21, but it’s still a massive commitment by the franchise.

However, Warriors ownership has exhibited a willingness to spend, and Oubre — who turns 25 next month — is a logical addition for a team that needed help on the wing even before word broke that Klay Thompson suffered a torn Achilles.

In 2019-20, Oubre averaged a career-high 18.7 PPG in 56 games (34.5 MPG) for the Suns, chipping in 6.4 RPG and 1.3 SPG with a .453/.352/.780 shooting line. Phoenix, recognizing he wasn’t part of the team’s long-term plans, sent him to Oklahoma City in the Chris Paul blockbuster earlier this week.