‘I was really proud of him. He handled it really well’: Warriors head coach Steve Kerr opens about how Kelly Oubre reacted to Pelicans trade rumors.
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Kelly Oubre Jr. has been in the spotlight for a couple of days. A trade rumor between the New Orleans Pelicans and Golden State Warriors has gone viral. Well, these are only rumors as confirmed by Kelly Oubre Jr. himself and Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr.
Even though these are only rumors, they would get into any player’s head. Although Steve Kerr appreciated Kelly for handling the situation well. Kerr also told the reporters that:
“I tell players this all the time, and I told Kelly this: this is where you really earn your money. The basketball part is the easy part. But packing up your family and leaving, getting injured, getting booed, or reading your name in trade rumors, those things are not easy.”
“I was really proud of Kelly. He handled it really well … He came in and had one of his best games and was really the key to us finally gaining some traction in the game in the second quarter.”
Kerr on Oubre trade rumors: “A team called us and asked about Kelly, didn’t even make an offer. Next thing you know, it’s online. … It’s unfortunate.”
— Connor Letourneau (@Con_Chron) January 28, 2021
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‘I am a Warrior, let’s go get this fu*king ring’: Kelly Oubre addresses his trade rumors
It is quite clear to everyone that Kelly Oubre Jr. hasn’t had the best start to this season. He was in a bit of a slump when he had his career’s worst 3-point shooting.
Well, he completely used the trade rumors as motivation and took it personally. He led the Warriors to a 123-111 win over the Timberwolves. As coach Kerr said, this was possibly one of his best games. He scored 20 points on 7/9 shooting and also managed to grab 9 rebounds and 2 steals.
Oubre told the reporters post-game:
“I like to perform, my job is to go out there and perform and put on a show. Obviously, there are no fans this year so it kind of dumbs down that element to the game, but that’s part of my job. To go out there and make people feel like they’re on the court or feel the energy from the court. It’s an unseen element to this game that I love.”
When he was asked about the rumors, Oubre managed to make himself heard to everyone with his bold statement,” I’m am a Warrior. Let’s go get this fu**ing ring”.
“I’m a Warrior. Let’s go get the f–king win.”
Kelly Oubre Jr. talks about the conversation he had with Steve Kerr about the trade rumors pic.twitter.com/381AkOmNz1
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 28, 2021