Kelly Oubre Jr.: Phoenix Suns 2015 Draft Profile

Weaknesses:

***Now this section should come with a little disclaimer. I covered Oubre at the University of Kansas, and having covered every single Kansas game, I’ve definitely seen my fair share of the guy. So with that being said, some of my criticisms of him may be a little nitpicky or harsh, but they are things I noticed over the course of the season.***

While Oubre’s defense and rebounding should translate right away, there are some questions as to whether or not he will pan out and become anything more than that. He was definitely inconsistent while at the University of Kansas, although much of that has to do with how he was used within Bill Self’s offense.

It’s definitely worth noting that he was pretty forgettable in the NCAA Tournament, averaging 8.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, shooting worse than 40 percent from the field.

Now, it’s certainly possible that Oubre’s inconsistencies where amplified by the fact he played with one of the most consistent players in college basketball last year in Frank Mason III. Mason had a 21-game stretch where he scored at least 10 points, posting five or more assists 11 times during that period.

Oubre, on the other hand, wasn’t even close to matching that. His longest streak of double-digit scoring games was five, and if you combined his four longest streaks of consecutive double-digit scoring games, he’d still fall flat at just 13.

In various games, Oubre scored 25, 23, 20, 19, 18 and 16 points, but he also had games where he played MORE than 15 minutes, scoring just zero, three, three, five, six and seven points. He averaged 9.3 points per game, but the fact of the matter was he only scored between 7-11 points in nine games.

That means three-fourths of the time, Oubre was well outside of his averages, at least from a scoring perspective, and the team never really knew what to expect out of him.

Other weaknesses include Oubre’s inability to use his right hand, which didn’t really improve all that much as the year went on. Additionally, Oubre has shown absolutely no potential to control a game with his passing, going for more than two assists in a game just three times in college; each time he posted just three assists.

Now, that doesn’t at all mean the ball dies with Oubre, but he did post a usage rate of 22.8 percent, which last year would have ranked ninth in the NBA out of all small forwards, and 66th overall.

There’s also one more thing: Oubre absolutely needs to fill out body wise; his frame is still pretty slight. Of the 63 players who were weighed at the combine, Oubre was the 39th heaviest, and was the 10th heaviest small forward.

While there’s certainly no problem with a guy being light, it will be difficult for him to body up other small forwards, while weighing just 202.8 pounds. After all, looking at the other top threes in the league, there’s kind of a common trend. LeBron James weighs 250 pounds; Kevin Durant weighs 240 pounds; Kawhi Leonard weighs 230 pounds; Carmelo Anthony weighs 240 pounds; Gordon Hayward weighs 225 points.

The lightest of the top small forwards is Tony Allen, and even he has a 10-plus-pound advantage on Oubre. The rookie out of Kansas will need to add bulk to his frame if he is going to be a defensive force at the next level, but if he can, there’s no reason he couldn’t end up as a Tony Allen-type defender, with a much bigger offensive upside.

Next: Potential Fit