Lakers buyout targets: Ranking the remaining candidates
By Jason Reed
2. Kelly Oubre Jr.
Kelly Oubre Jr. is the only player on this list that is not yet bought out by his respective team but there is every reason in the world for Oubre to be next on the buyout market. After all, the Charlotte Hornets are more focused on Victor Wembanyama or Scoot Henderson than they are winning games this season.
Oubre is still nursing a hand injury that required surgery back in January but his return should be imminent. Charlotte may simply be doing the favor of letting him rehab and use their resources for the time being and once he is healthy, they may grant him the ability to sign with another team by buying him out.
Charlotte would save some money in the process and would be doing Oubre and his agent a favor. That is the kind of move that we see small-market teams make every single year.
Oubre would be an interesting fit on the Lakers because while he does not have a great three-point percentage, he is still someone who can create his own shot and score the basketball. You don’t average over 20 points per game in the NBA by accident.
That being said, Oubre’s scoring also comes at a high volume and that might cause some contention for him in Los Angeles. He is only going to get 10-15 minutes a game at first as the only small forward on the roster and if he is playing inefficient basketball then Darvin Ham will pull him.
The ceiling is probably the highest with Oubre but there is also the potential of this pairing going very poorly.