Kelly Oubre Jr. played well for the Suns after being traded there mid-season from Washington, averaging 16.9 points per game and giving the Suns needed help on the wing next to Devin Booker. The Suns wanted to keep him, which dampened the free agent market for Oubre, teams were not coming in with offers.
The Suns and Oubre discussed a longer deal but could not find a number that worked for both sides, so they figured out what worked on a shorter, two-year contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Restricted free agent Kelly Oubre Jr., has agreed to a two-year, $30M deal to stay with the Phoenix Suns, agent Nima Namakian of @BDA_Sports tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 11, 2019
Oubre was the last restricted free agent on the market. He had hoped that a team such as the Mavericks or Clippers would come in with a larger and longer contract offer to pressure the Suns, but as that cap space dried up it became about finding a contract that worked with Phoenix. The sides talked about longer contracts at first but came around to two years eventually.
For the Suns, they get an incredibly athletic wing, but one who shot just 32.5 percent from three for them last season. With Ricky Rubio at the point, Oubre could fit well at the three in Phoenix, it was the Suns’ best option for now, but having drafted Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson the past couple of years the two-year deal allows the Suns to revisit that idea in 2021. Oubre is essentially betting on himself that in two years his value will go up.
For now, Oubre and the Suns are locked together on a young team with Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton that is expecting their young stars to take significant steps forward next season.
