Apparently Kelly Oubre Jr. isn't worried about burning the bridges that lead back to Phoenix.
The 24-year-old forward officially became a member of the Warriors on Sunday after first being traded from the Suns to the Thunder as part of the Chris Paul deal, then later sent from Oklahoma City to Golden State in exchange for a protected 2021 first-round draft pick. During an interview with 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, Oubre was asked about the differences in playing for Warriors owner Joe Lacob compared to Suns owner Robert Sarver.
TRADE ANALYSIS: Why the Warriors wanted Oubre
"I can play for an owner, you know, somebody who actually cares about the organization and not just the perception of the organization on the media end of it," Oubre said. "It's all about the foundation for me, man. You have a beautiful foundation, you can build a beautiful [future] as Golden State has done."
“I can play for an owner. Somebody who actually cares about the organization and not just the perception of the organization on the media end of it.”
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) November 24, 2020
Kelly Oubre via @DRK957 pic.twitter.com/hMc8EiR0kj
Oubre's analysis may sound harsh, but Sarver doesn't have much of a counter argument. The Suns last reached the playoffs in 2010 when Steve Nash was running pick-and-rolls with Amar'e Stoudemire, so Sarver clearly hasn't built a solid foundation. He also has a reputation for being cheap. That definitely doesn't apply to Lacob.
By adding Oubre to the roster, the Warriors pushed their tax bill well beyond $100 million. Oubre won't be able to replace the production of Klay Thompson, who will miss the 2020-21 season with a torn Achilles, but he is a decent wing option coming off a season in which he averaged a career-high 18.7 points per game. Warriors fans can't claim Lacob isn't doing everything in his power to help Stephen Curry and Draymond Green win games.
Oh, and outside of the basketball stuff, Lacob has never put a bunch of goats in his general manager's office. Per ESPN's Kevin Arnovitz:
Four years after naming [Ryan] McDonough general manager, Sarver acquired some live goats from a Diana Taurasi event at Talking Stick Resort Arena and planted them upstairs in McDonough's office. The stunt was both a practical joke and an inspirational message — the Suns should find a GOAT of their own, one who dominates like Taurasi. The goats, unaware of their metaphorical connotation, proceeded to defecate all over McDonough's office.
Nothing beautiful about that image. No wonder Oubre is excited.
