After a brutal 2024-25 season that saw the Philadelphia 76ers register one of their worst campaigns in franchise history with respect to meeting expectations, the team once again saw itself entrenched in a state of flux, unsure of its collective ceiling nor viability as a title hopeful moving forward. As a result, it was back to the drawing board for the front office.
In relation to that obvious missive, fans badly wanted for the team to move past a handful of players to draw in new upgrades. One of those players is Kelly Oubre Jr. who, while far from being a terrible role player, perfectly fit the bill of someone who is talented, yet flawed.
Oubre has been a major bargain bin player in the last two seasons, but his weaknesses have become more pronounced just as the 76ers started struggling. Despite his improvements on the defensive end, his sheer lack of a reliable presence as a floor spacer and clear tunnel vision have made him easily expendable.
Having said that, Oubre exercised his option to return next season, and the 76ers do not appear to have trading him as part of their immediate plans for now. Yet without realizing it, the front office has actually granted the fans’ wish to take him out of the picture, although not entirely.
The 76ers front office has phased Kelly Oubre out without even realizing it
As things currently stand, Oubre is a near-lock to have a much smaller role next season. Aside from Paul George returning (which is admittedly still a toss-up at this point), the 76ers front office has slowly started phasing him out of a significant role.
Justin Edwards, who was impressive last season in his rookie year, just got a contract extension and seems poised to soak up a lot of minutes at forward.
Also, after drafting VJ Edgecombe, the 76ers have loads of optionality on the guard and wing positions. And that is not even factoring in the inevitable retention of Quentin Grimes, who has ample experience playing at the 3.
Even the possibility of Oubre logging a lot of court time at the 4 has been foreclosed for the most part. Philly has loaded up in the front court with their additions in the draft and in the open market, finally giving the team actual forwards who can bang with big bodies inside while holding their own on the perimeter.
Simply put, the 76ers finally have a lot of reasons to hide Kelly Oubre’s weaknesses next season as he should no longer be in play to play as much as he did before. And for now, that should be enough.