Getty Kelly Oubre Jr. guards Tobias Harris on November 23, 2022
A $62 million Los Angeles Lakers trade target has suffered an unfortunate setback.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Charlotte Hornets small forward Kelly Oubre Jr. will undergo surgery on a torn ligament in his left hand and miss 4-to-6 weeks. The lefty suffered the injury during the first week of the season and has been playing through the ailment.
Sources: Hornets forward Kelly Oubre Jr. will undergo surgery on a torn ligament in his left hand and miss 4-to-6 weeks. Oubre – averaging a career high 20.2 points – suffered the injury in the first week of the season and has been playing through the pain on his shooting hand.
Oubre Jr. is making $12.6 million this season. He signed a two-year, $25 million deal with the Hornets in August 2021. The 27-year-old becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season and will have made more than $62 million in his career. The Lakers have shown interest in Oubre Jr., league sources told Heavy.com.
Oubre Jr. is averaging 20.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists this season while shooting 42.1% from the field, 30.8% from beyond the arc and 71.4% from the free-throw line. The Hornets are only 10-28. They have the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference.
Kelly Oubre Jr. Could Have Helped the Lakers
In a December 8 column called “Lakers Trade Targets with 2023 Trade Deadline 2 Months Away,” Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley listed Oubre Jr. as one of the players. The Lakers likely won’t trade for the Kansas product since he’s injured now.
“While the Lakers focused on getting younger and more athletic on the wings this offseason, a deadline deal for Kelly Oubre Jr. would make the position more dynamic,” Buckley wrote. “He has moon-boots bounce, and he knows how to use it in the open floor and above the rim. When he locks in defensively, his length and athleticism make him an asset. It would help if he had a more reliable three-ball (career 33 percent), but he’s shot at an average clip and on a high volume before. Not to mention, he can pile up points without it. He’s pumping in a career-high 20.4 points per game as we speak.”
Oubre Jr. has career averages of 12.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists with the Washington Wizards, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors and Hornets. He’s hit 80 3-pointers this season, which would rank first on the Lakers if he were on the team. Los Angeles needs more shooters and scorers around stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, which is why Oubre Jr. would have been a good fit for the Lakers.
Report: The Lakers May Finish the Season With Their Current Roster
Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times reported on December 28 that the Lakers may not make a trade this season. Los Angeles is only 16-21, good for 12th place in the Western Conference standings.
“The Lakers’ means for improving their roster this season are limited, rules prohibiting them from trading first-round picks other than the ones they have in 2027 and 2029 because of the steep price they paid for Davis,” Woike reported. “Internally, sources said, there’s been serious consideration given to riding out the season without making a major deal if they can’t find one that would make the team a realistic contender.”
The Athletic’s Jovan Buha wrote that the Lakers front office “doesn’t want to compound its previous mistakes with more win-now moves” on December 26. Los Angeles made a blockbuster trade during the summer of 2021, acquiring future Hall of Famer Russell Westbrook from the Wizards. That trade wound up being a poor move for the purple and gold, who went only 33-49 in 2021-22.