Kelly Oubre Jr.’s Instagram is freaking out some Suns fans

This is good troll work or very concerning.

Either way, Phoenix Suns fans are paying great attention to Kelly Oubre Jr.’s social media feeds as his free agency status lingers into the third day.

When it comes to news, there’s been silence since 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s John Gambadoro last reported that the Suns’ restricted free agent would meet with the team on Sunday night.

But Oubre hasn’t been quiet on his Instagram and Twitter accounts, lending room for Suns fans to put meaning into every one of his posts. The latest: a series of posts in his Instagram story of song titles that might be concerning to those in Phoenix.

W e l p . pic.twitter.com/SD2xFeHojC

— /r/SUNS (@Suns_Reddit) July 2, 2019

“Poof,” like he’s gone?

“Had to” like there’s a good reason?

“Bag,” like the one he secured from another team that’s not Phoenix?

It’s coincidence or fine toying by Oubre. In any case, it’s likely the restricted free agent forward isn’t in the best position of leverage. Since a furious start to free agency, things across the NBA have churned to a halt after big chunks of money have been spent.

Oubre could be waiting on the last big free agent, Kawhi Leonard, to make a decision, hoping he could become Plan B for a team that still has cap space. As of Tuesday morning, that list is somewhat short.

Updated list of teams with more than $10M of cap room remaining:
– LAC: $32M
– LAL: $32M
– DAL: $23M
– ATL: $14M

— Albert Nahmad (@AlbertNahmad) July 2, 2019

Phoenix, it’s likely, hasn’t put too massive of an offer on the table. The Suns can match any offer by another team and go beyond the salary cap limit to re-sign Oubre at any price. Oubre is right to drag this out and hope a bigger offer comes his way, and Phoenix is right not to offer him a big contract, outbidding only themselves in the process.

If no other teams jump into the fray and sign Oubre to an offer sheet, there is leverage given to the Suns and only one way for Oubre to get some back.

The restricted free agent market is lukewarm as cap space begins to shrink- one option for a player like Kelly Oubre Jr., Delon Wright or Tyus Jones is to bet on themselves and sign the Qualifying Offer. Would enter 2020 unrestricted and in a average at best free agent market.

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 2, 2019

Taking the qualifying offer would pay Oubre $4.9 million in 2019-20 before he becomes an unrestricted free agent next offseason, allowing him to play for what he would hope is a larger contract.

There are a lot of possible outcomes here. What’s certain is that Suns fans, the majority of whom appear hoping for an Oubre return, will remain paranoid about every Oubre tweet and Instagram post until the forward is locked into a new deal.

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