Shelburne explains why Warriors ultimately should trade Oubre

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Kelly Oubre Jr. had a very, very rough start to the season.

The 6-foot-7 lefty averaged 12.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists over the Warriors' first 21 games, while shooting 37.6 percent overall and 23.1 percent from the beyond arc.

And then something clicked.

Oubre over his last 14 games has averaged 20.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists on 50.5 percent from the field and 43.4 percent from 3-point range.

"We love him," president of basketball operations Bob Myers said on the "Dubs Talk" podcast last week. "We'd love to have him continue with us and hopefully we can figure that out."

The 25-year-old is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and it will be very interesting to see if the Warriors trade him before the March 25 deadline.

"I think they should trade him," ESPN's Ramona Shelburne said Monday on KNBR's "Papa & Lund" show. "This is my opinion. I don't know that they will. If you can get something decent for him now, then do that.

"If you feel good about Klay Thompson coming back -- and you feel good about Andrew Wiggins as a piece of your team going forward -- then I don't think there's as much of a role for Oubre, especially at the price point that he should command."

Shelburne also acknowledged that perhaps the Warriors hold on to Oubre for the remainder of the season, and then execute a sign-and-trade during the offseason.

RELATED: Simmons, Lowe revisit how Warriors won trade with T-Wolves

But one important caveat to keep in mind is that a sign-and-trade brings the "hard cap" into play, and the Warriors could be in position where the collective bargaining agreement rules prevent that from happening.

"Does he look like a part of the long-term future? I don't think so," Shelburne said. "I don't know what role he would play, unless they traded Wiggins or Klay is not doing well in rehab."

Ultimately, the Warriors could go in several different directions with the roster, and it will be fascinating to see how it all unfolds over the coming months.

But for the time being, let's hope that Oubre -- who suffered a scary fall during practice a week ago and missed Golden State's last two games before the All-Star break -- takes the floor Thursday night when the Warriors play the Los Angeles Clippers.

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