Indeed, part of the appeal of a trade for a Bradley Beal trade ahead of the draft was that they could cut costs significantly, freeing up the potential use of that Oubre salary slot. The only way Oubre’s slot can be used under their limits is to shed one of those players, which they have signalled they are not contemplating unless it’s in a trade for an NBA star. That is the byproduct of having three max contracts, and another almost max contract in Green’s extension, on the books.
Even without using the taxpayer MLE, if Golden State were to either re-sign Oubre, or sign-and-trade him to another team for a player making around his current salary, they’d rocket past $450m, let alone their $400m limit.
Why a Kelly Oubre sign-and-trade is (mostly) a mirageĪs the table above shows that rules out one potential tool in their armoury to add talent this offseason - a Kelly Oubre sign-and-trade.
