The Phoenix Suns have steadied the ship after two home losses to the San Antonio Spurs, but coming back from their Eastern Conference road trip with a 2-1 record. The final game of that trip, a thrilling overtime win over the Chicago Bulls that never should have been that close, also saw the team get Bradley Beal back.
All that is missing now is to get franchise cornerstone Devin Booker back to full healthy, an objective that he has occasionally made harder for the organization with how badly he wants to be out there. All is good for the Suns at the moment then, with most of their role players doing exactly what they’re supposed to for this group.
If you look at the offseason acquisitions of one foe out East who recently beat the Suns though, you’ll see they missed a chance to add a valuable player.
That individual would be somebody who starred for the 76ers in their recent 112-100 win over the Suns, pouring in an impressive 25 points. The second most on the team on that night behind current league MVP Joel Embiid, who had 26 points. We are talking of course, about Kelly Oubre Jr.
The 27-year-old a tremendous pickup for the 76ers this summer, and who is currently putting up 17.4 points per night in just under 30 minutes of action. Oubre Jr. has four starts to his name already, and has been the kind of bucket getting forward/guard hybrid that has allowed the 76ers to absorb the loss of James Harden to the L.A. Clippers
Oubre Jr. was a free agent this summer, and was signed by the 76ers for around $2.8 million on a one year deal. Not that anybody batted an eyelid at the time – here was a player who had played for the Suns in the past – and who not many fans had been too sad to see leave back in 2020.
A season with the Golden State Warriors followed, but it was a time in which that team didn’t even make the playoffs. In fact, Oubre Jr.’s only two appearances in the postseason came with the franchise that drafted him from 2016-18. The Washington Wizards, where he played alongside Beal.
Leave a Reply