Kelly Oubre Jr. thought he was fouled on a layup against the Warriors and made a gesture towards the ref. He was given a technical foul and when he kept chirping, he got a second T and was ejected.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Kelly Oubre Jr. came to the Warriors 14 months ago hoping for better than he got, a season of highs and lows, much like that of the team, which led to a mutual separation last summer.
Some, particularly on social media, considered Oubre’s experience with the Warriors as a failure on his part, which annoys Kelly Oubre Sr., who in a text exchange with NBC Sports Bay Area on Thursday criticized the franchise and the general characterization of his son.
“Not really impressed with the hate coming out of the Bay, considering the team had no real long-term plans for Kelly at all last year and beyond, which was obvious at the end,” Oubre Sr. wrote.
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“Kelly played a large part of last year with a broken wrist, which never gets brought up.
“He loved his teammates, as he does now, and he’s happy just playing basketball for a coach who told him verbatim that he wanted him not only for his play but also for the professionalism he maintained throughout adversity. And also because of his ability to both lead and follow.”
Informed of these comments, Warriors coach Steve Kerr seemed surprised by the displeasure expressed by Oubre Sr. but thought it best not to respond.
Oubre played 55 games (50 starts) for the Warriors. He tried to play through a torn ligament in his left (shooting) wrist and a fracture in his hand but was unsuccessful and ultimately sidelined. He missed 15 of the final 20 games, with the Warriors posting a 15-5 record during that span before being ousted by back-to-back losses in the play-in tournament.
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That the Warriors played their best basketball while Oubre was out naturally led to fan debate about the 6-foot-7 wing’s value to the team.
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Oubre has played well in Charlotte, mostly in the role of Sixth Man, averaging 16.7 points and 28.0 minutes per game with career-best field-goal percentages across the board.
He had his best game of the season Wednesday night, draining 10 3-pointers, tying a Hornets record, while scoring 39 points Wednesday night in a win over the Pacers.