Pro Sports

Warriors acquire guard Oubre from Thunder for draft picks

Posted November 22, 2020 6:00 am

By JANIE McCAULEY

Phoenix Suns forward Mikal Bridges, left, and forward Kelly Oubre Jr. (3) react to a foul called on Oubre in the first half during an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Guard Kelly Oubre is joining the Golden State Warriors to give the team backcourt depth in the wake of Klay Thompson's latest injury, with Oubre acquired Sunday in a trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Warriors will send a conditional 2021 first-round draft pick and a 2021 second-round selection - via Denver - to Oklahoma City in the swap.

Thompson will miss the season after suffering a torn right Achilles tendon playing a pickup game in Southern California on Wednesday. He already sat out the coronavirus-shortened season recovering from surgery for a torn ACL in his left knee that he hurt in the Raptors' clinching Game 6 victory of the 2019 NBA Finals.

'œWe've got to look hard and look fast,'ť Warriors general manager Bob Myers said Thursday when Golden State introduced No. 2 overall draft pick James Wiseman and second-rounder Nico Mannion at Chase Center. 'œBut I've got some great guys I work with that are working right now on what we can do. And so we've got to fill that position and give our fans and our organization and all the people that support us the best chance to win next year that we can.'ť

The 24-year-old Oubre is coming off a season in which he averaged career bests of 18.7 points and 6.4 rebounds over 56 games - 55 starts - for the Phoenix Suns. He also added 1.5 assists and 1.27 steals in 34.5 minutes. Oubre ended up with the Thunder on Monday night in the trade that sent Chris Paul to Phoenix.

The Warriors drafted Arizona guard Nico Mannion in the second round of the draft before knowing all the details of the injury to Thompson, who underwent an MRI exam Thursday that revealed the severity.

'œWe got this news and we found ourselves with a hole at a position that we can't find many better guys to fill than a Klay Thompson,'ť Myers said. 'œWe read our board up and under the two guard position we have a blank space. After processing that, like you mentioned, the league's not waiting for us. We've got to do what we have to do. We're exploring a lot of things. 'ť

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Chicago Bulls forward Thaddeus Young, left, and Phoenix Suns forward Kelly Oubre Jr., battle for a rebound during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Chicago, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) The Associated Press

Phoenix Suns forward Kelly Oubre Jr., left, reacts as he dunks against Chicago Bulls forward/center Cristiano Felicio during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Chicago, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) The Associated Press

Phoenix Suns forward Kelly Oubre Jr., middle, reaches for the ball between Chicago Bulls forward Thaddeus Young, bottom, and forward/center Cristiano Felicio during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Chicago, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. The Suns won 112-104. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) The Associated Press

Golden State Warriors draft pick Nico Mannion smiles during a news conference in San Francisco, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) The Associated Press

Golden State Warriors draft pick Nico Mannion, center, poses for photos between his father, Pace, left, and mother, Gaia, at a news conference in San Francisco, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) The Associated Press

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