Washington Wizards: Kelly Oubre Summer League Progress Report

Every year, there’s always that one late-lottery/mid-first-round prospect you nonsensically fall in love with.

You become enamored with their length, their swagger, their potential. Some — most notably, Paul George and Giannis Antetokounmpo — actually pan out and exercise their immense athletic gifts. Meanwhile, others — like Maurice Harkless — fade into obscurity after several middling seasons in the association.

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While the jury is still out on last year’s potential-filled flavor in Zach LaVine, the 2015 NBA Draft presented us with Kelly Oubre Jr., a gangly 6’7″ swingman equipped with a mind-numbing 7’2″ wingspan, and an unwavering aura of confidence.

Unlike the previous graduates of the irrational love affair academy, Oubre was a highly-touted high school prospect and a McDonald’s All-American.

However, after a rather uninspiring start to his lone collegiate season at Kansas, his draft stock would plummet as coach Bill Self limited the flamboyant lefty’s role on the team. As the season progressed, though, Oubre would earn Self’s trust, and slowly but surely became the Jayhawks’ best player by the end of the year.

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With that being said, entering the draft, Oubre’s myriad of flaws had been exacerbated. The gap between him and his high school rivals on the wings — namely, Stanley Johnson and Justise Winslow — had been amplified. More specifically, Oubre was seen a raw long-term project, while Johnson and Winslow were perceived as NBA-ready pure small forwards.

Sure enough, Oubre — who was once considered a top-7 prospect — slipped all the way down to the 15th overall pick on draft night. The Atlanta Hawks, the franchise that originally selected him, would deal Kelly almost immediately to the Washington Wizards for the draft rights of Jerian Grant and two second-round picks.

By the naked eye, Kelly looks like the prototypical NBA wing — he’s long, he’s lean, and he glides on the court. His physical tools were unquestioned, but his mental acuity and skills were. Here is a snippet of what Chad Ford of ESPN had to say about Oubre after the draft:

"“He’s very young and his basketball IQ is low. …If he puts in the work — a big if — he could be one of the best 8 or 9 players in this draft.”"

Therein, as the 2015 Las Vegas Summer League began, little was expected from the Houston, Texas-native. But, to the pleasant surprise of all Wizards fans, Oubre appears to be much further along than draft analysts had originally anticipated. He is not nearly as raw as advertised — in fact, he already possesses several transferrable NBA skills.

For the week, in six games, Oubre Jr. averaged over 16.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game on just 38.4 percent shooting from the field and a banal 25.0 percent from beyond the arc, per NBA.com.

While his stats would suggest Kelly endured a stint of inefficient volume scoring, K.O. showcased much more than that.

The Good

Perhaps the most unforeseen skill Oubre exhibited throughout his six-game Summer League stint was his ballhandling ability.

Coming into the draft, the teenage swingman’s handle was described by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress as rudimentary, strong (left) hand reliant, and hindered by a vulnerable high dribble. However, Kelly showed a much greater command of his dribbling skills and a more compact handle than he did in college.

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While, at his current form, he won’t be mistaken for Kyrie Irving or Stephen Curry anytime soon, Oubre had no problems attacking closeouts and slicing into paint through curls and side pick-and-rolls. Most notably, his dribble is clearly lower and his moves are paced much more efficiently in Vegas when compared to his lone year at Lawrence, Kansas.

He’s still extremely left-hand dominant, especially when it comes to finishing around the basket, but he has shown glimpses of driving right in a pinch, before delivering his patented left-handed finish.

Oubre is particularly efficacious at changing speeds — capable of luring his defender to sleep at a lethargic tempo, before kicking it into fifth gear and exploding towards the rack.

For such reasons, he has been pleasantly effective penetrating as the ballhandler in side and spread pick-and-roll sets. Oubre does an exceptional job of using his shot fake as a weapon; often hesitating as if he were pulling up while coming off of a screen, before slashing ferociously to the rim. Sure enough, he often ventures into the paint despite the defense’s concerted effort of going under the screen and forcing him to shoot.

Speaking of his shot, while the results of his jump-shooting are still uncomfortably erratic — converting on only three of his first 25 three-point attempts (12 percent) through his first five games before finally breaking out with a 5-of-7 performance from beyond the arc in his Summer League finale — his mechanics are sound.

Much of the inconsistencies he displayed as a Jayhawk regarding his shooting form — namely, changing his release when pressured, shooting on the way down, and flicking the ball off the side of his hand — have been ameliorated.

Most of his attempts are shot with great rhythm. Explicitly, Kelly always manages to square his body towards the basket — whether dribbling into his shot or stepping into his catch-and-shoot opportunity — before unleashing his innate soft touch and picturesque follow-through.

At this point, it’s all about repetitions and perfecting his refined craft. Oubre already trains with Drew Hanlan, the personal trainer of teammate, Bradley Beal — another aesthetically-pleasing shooter whose results did not necessarily match his textbook shooting form in college. However, as time gradually passed, Beal has developed into 40 percent three-point shooter for each of his last two NBA seasons under the tutelage of Hanlan.

Hopefully, for Wizards fans’ sake, Hanlan can rub some his magic off on Oubre as his game develops over the next several years.

With Beal and John Wall consuming the majority of the Wizards’ offensive possessions, though, it is hard to imagine Washington giving Oubre any material ballhandling opportunities outside of attacking the occasional closeout. Conversely, the intensity and motor in which Oubre plays with should serve as an asset for Randy Wittman and his coaching staff as soon as next season.

As evident through NBA.com’s newly-instated slew of “hustle” stats, Oubre is not afraid to get his hands dirty despite his pretty boy appearance.

In addition, Kelly brings his lunch-pail mentality when hitting the boards.  Specifically, Oubre is often seen attacking the defensive glass and rebounding outside his area. During his first couple of games, he was also excessively aggressive on the offensive glass, showcasing a remarkably quick second jump while following up on his own failed attempts.

His elite length as a wing effects the game in a multitude of ways. In conjunction to his impact on the boards, his never-ending arms also allow Oubre to cause an avalanche deflections and turnovers.

Chiefly, his physical profile enables Kelly to curate steals while digging down contentiously on opponent drives. While this may be a risky proposition for some, Oubre has the ability to utilize his elite lateral quickness and recover on time to discourage the opposition’s drive-and-kick overtures.

In the open court, his freakish wingspan fundamentally spawns a cavalcade of steals, and likewise, his athleticism and motor is prone to engender the rare, out-of-nowhere chase down block in transition.

Overall, his defense seems to be NBA ready.

As an on-ball defender, Oubre is generally aware of where his help is coming from and which coverage to deploy when defending different sets.

He is, however, much more equipped currently at defending wings than primary ballhandlers, as his weak base makes it difficult for him to fight through ball screens. The good news, though: Kelly already understands how to split the floor while staying on the ballhandler’s hip when defending the pick-and-roll, and more importantly, the effort is unquestionably there.

The most exciting part of Oubre’s game (defensively) is perhaps the way he communicates and quarterbacks the team when defending. Such a trait is often underrated when evaluating a player’s defensive acumen. Having possession of said skill at such young age will surely bode well for the neophyte as he fights for a spot in the Wizards’ rotation next year.

The Bad

Undoubtedly, Kelly Oubre is much more skilled offensively, and plays with much more of an on-court fervor, than depicted in his pre-draft scouting reports. That is not to say, however, that his feel for the game and repertoire of skills are refined by any means.

Most glaringly, the gangly swingman has a tough time creating space off-the-bounce. In particular, without the good fortune of an unoccupied lane, Oubre often stubbornly barrels into a sea of collapsing defenders.

In Summer League, when defended by the likes of Ryan Broekhoff, Kelly can simply use his length and shoot over, or draw a ticky-tack foul, on his smaller or athletically less-gifted counterparts. However, once the real games commence, Oubre will be in for a rude awakening when some of his brave forays end in live ball turnovers.

To make matters worse, KO is not exactly Magic Johnson when he’s driving vivaciously towards the rack.  As mentioned, Oubre has a knack of slashing and drawing fouls, but he suffers from a serious case of tunnel vision once he gets into the paint.

Even as the defense transparently ices, or forces him away from the screen along the sideline in side pick-and-roll situations, Oubre, most often times, will still pigheadedly drive right into the help hoping for either a miraculous finish or a bailout whistle.

Hopefully, as he continues to gain tangible in-game experience as a ball-in-hand creator, the game will start to slow down for him.

He has already made significant strides in that department, however. In fact, by the last game of his Summer League stint, he was seen hitting his corner shooter on one occasion as he over-penetrated, and patiently pitching the ball back to his flaring screener on another as the defense zoned up on Oubre while he came off a pick.

Encouragingly, his learning curve as a playmaker was quick enough for the Wizards to entrust Kelly with point forward duties during the waning stages of their sixth and final game.

Defensively, as mentioned, Oubre seems well-versed to serve as a plus-defender as soon as next season. However, as with most young players, he is prone to brief periods of mental lapses. Particularly, Kelly gets lost, at times, ball-watching; thereby allowing his man to cut and score without much resistance.

While defending on the ball, Oubre can often be too upright, leaving him vulnerable to quick change-of-direction maneuvers put forth upon him. He also has the propensity to gamble on ball fakes, inconsiderately overplaying or lunging for a steal as his man blows past him with a simple crossover.

There is most certainly a time and a place for on-ball strips, but with his physical gifts, a more conservative brand of defense from Oubre would cause just as much consternation on opposing offenses.

Outlook For Next Season

The Washington Wizards drafted Kelly Oubre Jr. with the intent of honing him into a serviceable 3-and-D wing. However, if his Summer League performance is of any indication, the brash rookie may very well be ahead of the developmental curve. At present, with his mix of unremitting effort, slashing, and defensive prowess, he can conceivably step in and contribute come opening night.

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He may have a difficult time breaking into coach Wittman’s rotation, though, as the Wizards — in an effort to mitigate the loss of Paul Pierce to free agency this offseason — brought in a battalion of veteran wings to pair with Bradley Beal and Otto Porter Jr.

More specifically, the Wizards brass signed Gary Neal and Alan Anderson, while trading for Jared Dudley, to bolster their perimeter front. While the trio may not be the athlete, or the slasher, Oubre is, they are all accomplished shooters with material playoff experience — two aspects an old-school coach like Wittman will surely cherish.

But, with Dudley out possibly until December following his back surgery, Oubre may see some early season playing time. If he can improve on the consistency of his three-point shot, while eliminating some of the mental lapses he suffers on the defensive end, Kelly has the opportunity to capitalize on the playing time he may receive come November and establish himself as a staple in the Wizards’ rotation.

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