Kelly Oubre Jr.: Phoenix Suns 2015 Draft Profile

Strengths:

Go ahead and take a look at the picture on top of this page. That tells much of the story right there.

Kelly Oubre Jr.’s arms are ridiculously long, and it’s something that has teams excited. Earlier, in this post, I mentioned Oubre’s length, and it’s definitely worth touching on again. After all, of the 18 largest measured wingspans at the combine, 17 of them came from power forwards and centers.

Care to guess who had the other one?

And it wasn’t just wingspan. Oubre measured among the best in multiple different measurements. Oubre had the sixth best standing vertical leap, and the third best at his position, but that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Due to his all-around athleticism, Oubre developed into a really solid defender and rebounder, the latter of which is something that is often overlooked at the one, two and three positions.

Last year, Oubre was among the best in the Big 12 at rebounding his position, which is something that is certainly not a given for an NBA player (see either of the two Jayhawks that play for the Suns).

And it’s also worth mentioning that Oubre posted a net rating of nearly +20 points per 100 possessions. When he was on the court, the Jayhawks scored 1.12 points per possession, while allowing just 0.93 points on the other end.

Speaking to his defense, Oubre posted a 3.3 steal percentage. Only two NBA players posted better numbers in that category last season: Tony Allen and Kawhi Leonard. A 3.3 steal percentage also would’ve ranked third in the league in the 2013-14 season, and would have even led the league twice in the last 12 years. It also would have finished in the top five of the NBA in each of the last 16 seasons.

Other Oubre strengths include his slashing potential, although at this point he’s limited to finishing with his left hand, and needs to show improvement in that area. Additionally, he has the potential to become a solid shooter, although his shot can lack arc at times. His release is usually fairly smooth, but due to the lack of arc, the shot doesn’t look as pretty as the shots that go up and rainbow in, but that’s splitting hairs.

Oubre finished out the year shooting just 35.8 percent from three, but that was affected negatively by a shaky start. Oubre started the year at just 2-of-7 from three, but those numbers would quickly improve. Over the rest of non-conference play, Oubre shot 55 percent from distance.

Oh, and as far as inside play is concerned, Oubre was pretty solid finishing around the rim. And he can certainly throw down…

The potential is definitely there for Oubre to become a force at the offensive level, and if he continues to grow as a slasher and shooter, there’s no reason to think he couldn’t end up as one of the steals from this year’s draft.

Oubre definitely has the potential to become one of the most complete young players in the league, especially given his athleticism, but it would be pretty surprising to see him contend for Rookie of the Year.

Next: Weaknesses