Former Kansas standout Kelly Oubre Jr. agrees to new NBA deal with Philadelphia 76ers

Nine-time NBA All-Star Paul George wasn’t the only wing to reach a multiyear contract agreement with the Philadelphia 76ers this week.

Former Kansas wing Kelly Oubre Jr., who was paid $2.8 million on a one-year NBA minimum contract with Philadelphia during the 2023-24 season, has agreed to a two-year, $16.3 million contract (with a player option for 2025-26) with the Sixers, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski has reported.

That deal was agreed upon shortly before George and the Sixers hooked up on a four-year, $212 maximum contract.

Oubre, a 28-year-old nine-year NBA veteran who has played for five teams, averaged 15.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in 67 games (including 51 starts) last season. He hit 44.2% of his shots including 31.2% of his 3s.

He will be part of a projected Sixers starting lineup that will include George, former KU freshman standout Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. ESPN’s Wojnarowski also reported this week that Maxey has agreed on a five-year, $204 million extension with the Sixers.

Oubre signed with the Sixers right before the start of training camp a year ago.

He was coming off a strong 2022-23 season with the Charlotte Hornets, one in which he averaged 20.3 points a game.

“Obviously, you see that scoring 20 points on a team that’s not winning (Hornets) does nothing for you,” Oubre, who had a one-and-done season at KU in 2014-15, told bleacherreport.com in April. “But at the end of the day, being on a winning team and being able to contribute and be a piece is everything.

“At the end of the day it’s about basketball, being an asset. ... I’m just trying to be like water. Stay poised, form to whatever situation.”

According to Paul Hudrick of libertyballers.com, Oubre has a deal that “will likely fall under the Sixers’ room mid-level exception, meaning it won’t eat into the team’s salary cap space. As (reporter) Bryan Toporek laid out, Oubre could be taking less money now to ensure a bigger payday with the Sixers next offseason — similar to what happened with Bobby Portis and the Milwaukee Bucks.”

Oubre after the Sixers were eliminated by the Knicks in the NBA playoffs, told libertyballers.com: “At the end of the day, I want to go to somewhere where they respect and they love me. It’s been nothing but love here, of course. So at the end of the day, I feel as if there’s unfinished business and a lot of things to be done.”

In March, he told Yahoo Sports he continues to grow as a player.

“A lot of times, I’m a good on-ball defender, but helping and being off the best players on the other team is where I lapse at,” Oubre said. “So I’m trying to be focused and be there for my guys no matter what. If somebody gets beat, I’m there to help.”

Oubre has called coach Nick Nurse “the best coach I’ve played for, straight up.”

Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey called Oubre “such a breath of fresh air” in an interview with reporters after a first-round playoff loss to the Knicks.

“Kelly ... played so hard, won over the city — which isn’t easy,” Morey added, as quoted by Yahoo Sports. “He gave us really key minutes in the regular season and the playoffs, so he’s definitely someone that we have interest in.”

Oubre, the No. 15 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, spent the first three-plus seasons of his career in Washington before playing for the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors and Charlotte Hornets prior to signing with Philly.