Hornets sign Oubre to two-year deal
After two-plus days of free agency, most of the notable names were already off the board. Now, Kelly Oubre Jr. has joined the ranks of players that have secured a new deal. He’ll join the Charlotte Hornets on a two-year, $26 million deal, according to a report from Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
This will be the fourth team in four seasons for Oubre, who has struggled to find any consistency with his game or place in the league. He’s coming off a disappointing season with the Golden State Warriors, during which he got off to a historically bad shooting start, and missed 15 of the final 20 games due to a hand and wrist injury.
Now healthy, he’ll have another chance to prove himself on a young, up and coming Hornets team. His size and athleticism aren’t in question, nor is his effort. But while he’s a versatile defender, he’s not quite as good as you’d hope on that side of the ball, and his offense is often too streaky. In particular, his 3-point shot just needs to be better. He’s at 32.6 percent for his career, and has never shot better than 35.2 percent.
The Hornets are making a big bet that Oubre can improve in those areas, and that his overall style of game will fit right in with the team they’re building. That, at least, seems likely. His ability to get up and down the floor will make the Hornets an even more dangerous in transition than they were last season, when they finished fourth in the league with 23.1 fastbreak points per game.