Wizards' Kelly Oubre: Will battle for starting job

Wizards coach Scott Brooks said Wednesday that Oubre will have a chance to battle incumbent Otto Porter for the starting small forward job, Candace Buckner of The Washington Post reports. "Definitely it's going to be a healthy competition," Brooks said. "We also have some younger players who are coming into camp. I'd like both [Oubre and Porter] to take a step in the right direction and they should."

Analysis:

Porter seems like the heavy favorite to maintain the starting role after averaging a career-high 11.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.4 steals in 30.3 minutes per game last season, but the fact that Oubre was mentioned as a candidate to start shows how highly he's valued within the organization, even after a so-so rookie campaign. The 6-foot-7 swingman's potential remains enticing though, largely because of his shooting ability. While Porter hit a respectable 36.7 percent of his three-point attempts last season, Oubre is perceived to have more upside in that area, despite his struggles in that regard during summer league play. Look for Oubre to see a decent uptick in playing time this season after averaging only 10.7 minutes per game in 63 appearances as a rookie.