Kelly Oubre is still the best free agent availablewho averaged 20.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game last season in Charlotte.
Most teams expect him to sign with this team Miami Heat – But only if they trade Damian Lillard. Mark Stein reports in his latest Substack newsletter.
This idea makes sense. In any iteration of the Lillard trade, the Heat would send quality depth — most likely Tyler Herrobut Caleb Martin And other names have been mooted – and signing Oubre could bring some goalscoring help from the bench. There are problems with this plan, Oubre isn’t a traditional Heat player: He’s not a good defender, not a strong playmaker for others, and not an efficient scorer. But he can get buckets, and that’s a very valuable skill.
Of course, that all hinges on Damian Lillard being traded to Miami, and those talks remain deadlocked.
These talks are expected to be held Start over with a little more urgency in the next few weeksBut the main issue is that From the pioneers I don’t like the Heat’s offer (at best three first round picks plus Hero and maybe Nikola YovichBut no other team is pushing for the 33-year-old Lillard, who has four years and $216 million left on his contract. There is a growing sense that Portland would like to go into training camp (and maybe the season) with Lillard, but he may be away from the team during training camp. The Trail Blazers need to turn the tables Scott Henderson Duran, and while Lillard isn’t going to say anything bad about the Blazers Or intentionally a distraction, his mere presence leads to a media zoo and many distractions.
Through it all, Aubrey just waits.