Kelly Oubre Jr. agreed on Wednesday to terms on a two-year, $17 million deal with the Indiana Pacers, a move that gives Indiana a proven wing as the 2026-27 season approaches. The reported agreement ends a stretch in which Oubre was expected to remain in play for the Philadelphia 76ers.
For Oubre, 30, the deal lands after a strong 2025-26 campaign in which he averaged 14.1 points, five rebounds and 1.4 steals across 50 games while shooting 46.7 percent from the field and a career-high 36 percent from three. That production is part of why Indiana moved now: small forward had been one of its questions, and Oubre fills a need without waiting for the market to settle.
The search around him began because of what he said after the season ended with a sweep against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Oubre said he wanted to be back in Philly, said he loved it there, and added that he liked to finish what he started. He also said the experience had taught him a lot, but the new deal takes him out of the place he clearly hoped to keep calling home.
That is the friction inside this move. The Philadelphia 76ers had been light on trustworthy, two-way wings and Oubre fit neatly beside Tyrese Maxey, V.J. Edgecombe, Joel Embiid and Paul George, yet the Pacers still got him. Indiana is betting that the same player who produced in Philadelphia can hold up in a different role, even if the exact shape of that role is not spelled out yet.
What is clear is the direction. The Indiana Pacers improved their depth on the wing, and Oubre joins a group that already carries the look of a contender. The next question is not whether he helps, but whether he starts or comes off the bench when the 2026-27 season opens.
