Atlanta Hawks: Ranking the 12 Best Fits in Free Agency
By Chris Guest
#6. Kelly Oubre
As an Atlanta Hawks fan that’s still stinging from the time that Coach/GM Mike Budenholzer traded away the rights to Kelly Oubre for roughly a season and a half of Tim Hardaway Jr., Oubre returning to the Atlanta Hawks via free agency this offseason sounds like sweet, sweet music to this writer’s ears.
If only for his general coolness and supreme good looks, Oubre would make for a terrific fit on the Atlanta Hawks. When looking at the basketball fit, Oubre would still be a welcome addition to the team.
With Taurean Prince likely on the way out via trade, Oubre plays a position of need for the Hawks next season. Beyond that, the 23-year-old showcased an interesting skill set during his time with the Phoenix Suns after the surprising Trevor Ariza trade during the regular season. While his individual numbers weren’t eye-popping as a Sun, Oubre did produce the highest true shooting percentage of his career (55.5%) on the highest usage rate (24.7%) in Phoenix, per Basketball Reference.
Per Cleaning the Glass, the Suns had a +6.1 net rating when Oubre was on the floor – just behind franchise linchpin Devin Booker on the team – and the team’s point differential shot up by 5 points when Oubre played (in the 88th percentile among forwards).
From a selfish perspective, Oubre also frequently dominated the Hawks in the Playoffs, so at least we wouldn’t have to worry about that happening again if he was on our side!