National Basketball Association

Washington Wizards' Scott Brooks Speaks Glowingly About Kelly Oubre

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Washington Wizards head coach, Scott Brooks, spoke glowingly about the future of Kelly Oubre Jr. in a recent interview on The Junkies.

Nothing in life worth having comes without commitment. That cliche phrase, or some variation of it, has been used millions of times to motivate the uninspired.

Washington Wizards forward, Kelly Oubre, knows that mantra better than anyone else.

The 20-year-old played less than 700 total minutes during his rookie season and now he’s being thrust into a situation where he’s expected to play a major role on a team with real expectations.

Under Randy Wittman, Oubre was essentially asked to redshirt his rookie season. Unless the team was up or down 20, Oubre was rarely seen on the court. This season, with Scott Brooks in charge, Oubre will be asked to contribute.

Oubre, a charismatic kid from New Orleans, understands that an opportunity won’t be handed to him now that he’s in the NBA, just like it wasn’t during his time in Kansas.

Even though the Wizards hired Brooks primarily for his player development chops, the head coach has been known to play veterans ahead of developing talent that isn’t quite ready.

The franchise is high on Oubre, but we’ve yet to see if he can actually produce at a high level.

Currently, the Wizards don’t have any competition at the small-forward position. Unless something shocking occurs in training camp, Otto Porter will remain the starter and Oubre will be the primary backup.

Still, Brooks won’t give Oubre the minutes if he’s not ready.Bro

In an interview with the Junkies, Brooks spoke about Oubre and his role with the team this upcoming season.

“That’s another young player. He’s 20-years-old, so I always have to remind myself of that,” Brooks said. “I’ve coached a lot of young players in my career and the thing that I’ve noticed from all the players is that if you just focus on doing your work day-to-day you’re going to have some good success in the long run.”

“Kelly has to develop that mentality; that you can’t worry about minutes,” Brooks continued. “You have to just keep working and earn those minutes. He’s had a great summer. He’s back now and he’s in great condition. He’s very talented. His wingspan is over 7-feet, he’s athletic, he can shoot it. He has the potential to be an elite perimeter defender in this league.”

Prior to even accepting the job to coach the Washington Wizards, Brooks reportedly had the team on his radar because he noticed the amount of young talent the team possessed.

Oubre, as Brooks noted, has all the tools to become a special player. More importantly, he has the work ethic to make the most of that talent and not let it go to waste like other members of the team have in the past.

It’s not quite sink or swim time for Oubre, but the team is hopeful that he’s ready to contribute. Without any veterans to lean on, the Wizards are ready to give Oubre the playing time he was itching for this past season. It won’t come without a fight, but the opportunity is there.