NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 20: Kelly Oubre Jr. #9 of the Philadelphia 76ers celebrates his three during the second half in game one of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 20, 2024 in New York City. The New York Knicks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 111-104. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
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The Sacramento Kings had a choice to make this offseason: tear their roster apart and rebuild from the ground up or retool their team around the current stars they already have.
Based on their main offseason moves – bringing in veteran journeyman Dennis Schroder and trading up to draft ready-now rookie Nique Clifford – it seems like the Kings are going down the latter path. However, their team is still sorely lacking in one critical area: size.
Fortunately, one player could be available, and if the Kings are serious about being good in 2025-26, it would be in their best interest to trade for him.
The Philadelphia 76ers Are Shopping Kelly Oubre Jr.
Last week, NBA Insider Jake Fischer reported that the Philadelphia 76ers are looking to trade Kelly Oubre Jr. (and Andre Drummond) in order to open up some money to re-sign restricted free agent Quentin Grimes.
“There has been buzz all summer long about the Sixers looking to potentially move one of, if not both, Andre Drummond and Kelly Oubre,” Fischer said. “If they are able to find a deal for one of these two guys as we get closer to camp, that would open up some wiggle room for Philadelphia to be able to pay Grimes a little bit more.”
The Sacramento Kings Should Trade For Kelly Oubre Jr.
As Andy Bailey recently pointed out in an article for Bleacher Report, one team that could try to acquire Oubre is the Kings. Bailey mentioned that the Kings could use Dario Saric (who they traded for in a deal with the Denver Nuggets earlier this offseason) as matching salary.
“Dario Šarić certainly isn’t the player he was when he last suited up for the 76ers back in 2018, but a reunion would be fun,” Bailey wrote. “…For the Sacramento Kings, a swap involving Šarić and Oubre would leave them awfully thin at center, but they could also use a scoring boost on the second unit. And Oubre is a lot more likely to provide that.”
While I disagree with Bailey that a Saric/76ers reunion would be “fun,” I do love Oubre’s fit on this version of the Kings.
As presently constructed, the Kings are a guard-heavy group. Along with Schroder, they also employ Malik Monk, Keon Ellis, Devin Carter, and Zach LaVine. DeMar DeRozan will likely log most of his minutes at the three/four, but he also functions more like a guard, especially on offense.
Since many of their resources are tied to backcourt players, the Kings are sorely lacking in athletic wings/forwards who can bolster their defense. The only guys I really trust in this regard are Clifford and Keegan Murray.
Oubre would be a great depth piece. At 6’8 with a 7’2 wingspan, he’s one of the best veteran forwards the Kings can realistically acquire right now – certainly better than anything they can get in free agency at this point.
More than being the most proven option on the market right now, Oubre fits the way I envision this team playing next season.
Given all their talent at guard, the Kings would be wise to deploy smaller lineups that focus on speed and skill (something I discuss more in-depth right here).
Oubre would complement this style of play perfectly. His blend of athleticism, motor, and length makes him one of the most chaotic players in basketball. Oubre has finished in the 73rd percentile or higher in steal rate in each of the last four seasons. Since the Kings will be lacking in rim protection (the downside of having Domantas Sabonis as your starting center), they will need to rely on turnover creation if they hope to field a serviceable defense.*
(*Fun fact: The 2022-23 Chicago Bulls finished fifth in Defensive Rating by following a similar defensive model.)
Oubre has also been saddled with a lot of injury-plagued teams of late. Two of his last three professional seasons have been spent on sub-30-win teams. While this couldn’t have been pleasant for a fierce competitor like Oubre, it did allow him to expand his on-ball scoring game. Oubre averaged 20.3 and 15.1 PPG in those two seasons, respectively.
Along with wanting to create a ton of turnovers, the Kings are also going to want to maximize their opportunities in transition. Oubre’s frenetic nature, coupled with his improved ball skills, means that he can operate as both an initiator and finisher on the fastbreak. Last season, Oubre ranked in the 81st percentile in transition possessions per game (per NBA.com).
Trading Saric would mean that Drew Eubanks and Isaac Jones are the only centers with NBA experience left on the Kings’ roster behind Sabonis. However, considering that Saric fell out of the Nuggets’ rotation, it seemed unlikely that Saric was going to factor too heavily into the Kings’ rotation anyway. Plus, Sabonis is the type of guy you can count on for 36 MPG and 70+ games a year. So, it’s not like Sacramento will have too many minutes to fill behind him.
It’s unclear if Oubre will actually get traded or if he’s even on the Kings’ radar (they apparently still want to bring in Russell Westbrook). But if they did pull the trigger on an Oubre trade, the Kings would immediately become a more competitive team next season.