Kelly Oubre is just finding his groove for the Golden State Warriors, so this week’s trade rumors are coming at a particularly inopportune time.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr indicated on Wednesday that he was unhappy that rumors about Oubre were leaked to the media.
“It’s unfortunate,” said Kerr, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “Team called us and asked about him. Didn’t even make an offer, asked about Kelly. Next thing it’s online.”
Shams Charania, also of The Athletic, had reported about the Oubre talks. Charania said that the Warriors and the New Orleans Pelicans had discussed a potential deal involving Oubre, the 25-year-old swingman. He did add though that there was no traction as of yet.
Oubre is in his first season in Golden State but will be a free agent in the summer. After a comically terrible start to his Warriors career, he has rebounded to average 12.1 points and 5.7 boards a game on the year.
The former first-round pick Oubre may indeed be a trade chip ahead of the March 25 deadline. But Kerr knows how damaging such rumors can be for player morale, regardless of if anything actually results from them.
