LB NBA Mock Draft: Phoenix Suns Select Kelly Oubre

With the 13th overall pick in the 2015 Liberty Ballers NBA Mock Draft, the Phoenix Suns select ... Chip Kelly. Wait, no, sorry. Wrong blog. What I meant to say was: Kelly Oubre, the freshman small forward from Kansas.

The 19-year-old Oubre is the 13th best overall prospect as rated by DraftExpress. It wasn't that long ago when he considered to be one of the top prospects in the class. I remember this well because I picked him to the be Sixers' first round pick in the annual prediction contest held by Andrew Unterberger of The 700 Level. Whoops.

Oubre got off to a rough start at Kansas and was up and down throughout the season. The 6-7, 200 pound freshman finished with 9.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 0.8 APG in 36 appearances. He shot 44.4%/35.8%/71.8%.

Now let's watch some highlights, because that's how the REAL evaluators do it! (Music NSFW):

As for his fit with Phoenix, look no further than this recent post from Bright Side of the Sun.

"Ryan McDonough has expressed a certain lack of enthusiasm for drafting 13th, hinting numerous times about the possibility of trading out of the first round altogether. If the idea of another mouth to feed is unappealing to the Suns, Oubre might be the perfect choice if he is still available. As skilled as he is defensively, his shortcomings on offense are significant enough that it wouldn't be reasonable to expect any fireworks out of the gate.

Despite the logjam at small forward with Warren, P.J. Tucker, Marcus Morris and maybe even Danny Granger, Oubre would be an intriguing possibility for the Suns at 13th. While Kansas might have expected too much too soon out of the youngster, perhaps he would experience better success with a reduced set of responsibilities. If his jumper is as NBA-ready as it appears, he might be able to contribute right away as an athletic 3-and-D wing off the bench. Asking for anything more than that, at least for his first year, is probably asking way too much.

Out of the draftees projected in the Suns' range, Oubre might be the most gifted as well as the least polished. While he isn't as much a long-term project as an Archie Goodwin, he'll probably need more time to adjust than a T.J. Warren.

This would be a swing-for-the-fences pick, but it's rare for a player with these kinds of physical tools to be available in the bog of the late-lottery.

My two cents: Swing away."

Oubre feels like a prospect Sixers fans would be pining for if Doug Collins was still around (the horror) and Philadelphia was picking in the teens, as the Suns are here. (Or if the Sixers had the Heat pick this year...) He's not a safe prospect but he has some intriguing upside.