Boston Celtics: 3 realistic MLE targets Cs could pursue this offseason

Boston Celtics MLE target #2: Kelly Oubre Jr.

Kelly Oubre was seen as a marquee addition to the 2020-21 Golden State Warriors after scoring just under 19 points and grabbing six rebounds per game in 2019-20 with the ascending Phoenix Suns. With Klay Thompson out for the season with a torn Achilles suffered before training camp, Oubre could have made a name for himself in a contract year in his place.

That idea went out the window after Oubre shot 2/30 from the 3-point line in his first six games in the Bay. The Warriors somehow went 3-3 and landed the #8 seed in the NBA Play-in Tournament despite his shot not being consistently effective until March.

A reunion with the Warriors doesn’t make a lot of sense with Thompson set to return to a full Chase Center this fall. Oubre is hitting the open market with a lot less potential to make money than before his 2020-21 season.

That said, he is still just 25 years old and fits the timeline of the Jays. Stevens is likely to prioritize that in his future roster building, and Oubre’s height and length allow him to play some minutes as a stretch-5 when other teams go small themselves.

While the Nevada-born baller may prefer to stay out west, Boston should be a suitor for the former Kansas Jayhawk.