Mailbag: Kelly Oubre Jr. Thoughts, Filling Harden's Shoes + More
Training camp is almost here!
Adam Aaronson, whose legal name is Sixers Adam (@SixersAdam on Twitter), covers the Sixers for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez. He believes cantaloupe is the best food in existence, and is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.
The Sixers added a new wing to their roster, Media Day is almost a week away and still, nobody knows what the hell is going on with James Harden. Let’s talk about all of it in a mailbag, shall we?
From @Jack_Michael17: thoughts on the Kelly Oubre Jr. signing, how he’ll fit with the team, role, etc?
The team signed Oubre Jr. to a veteran’s minimum deal this week, rounding out its wing rotation with some much-needed depth. Danuel House Jr. was the team’s only reserve wing likely to receive consistent playing time, so the addition of another proven rotation player made sense.
Because of Oubre Jr.’s three-point shooting volume (7.2 three-point attempts per game over the last two seasons) and athleticism, I have long pinned him as someone the Sixers could target in a trade or free agency. It came together soon before training camp.
I am not necessarily an Oubre Jr. guy myself, but on a veteran’s minimum with this team’s wing depth issues, this was a no-brainer. Oubre Jr. has never been nearly as good of a three-point shooter as he has been an active three-point shooter -- while his volume is tremendous, his efficiency is not.
Offensively, Oubre Jr. will almost certainly be encouraged to let it fly from three, especially off the catch. Even when the shots don’t fall, it is valuable to have such a quick launcher.
The Sixers will ask Oubre Jr. to buckle down and get stops on the defensive end, and whether or not he does that will determine if the signing turns out to be a success or a failure.
From @dangerbird6: If Harden doesn't play, how do you think offense (meaning, points) will be and should be redistributed, especially with Tobias and now Oubre on the roster?
Joel Embiid’s workload on offense has pretty much hit its maximum already. That leaves a lot of shots typically taken by Harden for the rest of the roster to eat up. Of course, Tyrese Maxey is the first beneficiary of Harden’s absence. He will see increased duties as both a scorer and playmaker in Harden’s absence.
After that, one has to assume more shots are coming for Tobias Harris. The Sixers have spent years now praising Harris for the sacrifices he’s made in terms of scoring opportunities for the betterment of the team, claiming that if he had the chance, he could be a go-to scorer in the way he was for the Los Angeles Clippers in the year he was eventually dealt to Philadelphia. In the final season of the five-year contract he signed in the summer of 2019, he has a chance to prove it.
The recent signing of Kelly Oubre Jr. makes for an interesting addition into the calculus here. The Sixers have signed and are counting on so many surrounding players who are not comfortable as primary creators that Oubre Jr., just because of his aggressive nature, may end up taking a whole lot of shots, regardless of how many minutes Nick Nurse allots him.
The Sixers would love to get any sort of playmaking juice out of De’Anthony Melton or Patrick Beverley, but cannot bank on receiving it from either, as creation is not a strength for the two defensive-oriented guards.
From @bradleyryder: Assuming Harden is out I really like Zach LaVine. What are the chances that the Sixers can acquire him and at what cost?
There is no doubt that LaVine is a very good player, he is one of the league’s better self-creators and tough-shot-makers. His skill level as an offensive player is outstanding. However, two issues arise for me when it comes to whether or not he can be the Harden replacement.
While LaVine’s decision-making has improved some in recent seasons, playmaking and creating for others are still not exactly strengths of his, and that is really what the Sixers would need to fill Harden’s shoes.
My other concern stems from LaVine’s contract. There are three years left, combined to be worth well over $120 million, as well as a fourth-year player option for the 2026-27 season worth $48.9 million.
Is LaVine good enough to be the primary ball-handler for a genuine championship contender? At what point does he start to decline? At what point in their careers will Maxey simply become a better player? These are the questions the Sixers must ask themselves about LaVine.
As far as pricing, if the Chicago Bulls do not have any interest in Harden, the deal would need to center around Harris. But a deal of Harris and assets for LaVine is only going to happen if the Bulls decide they want out of the contract they agreed to just a couple of years ago.