The Nets aren’t expected to make a qualifying offer to Jerome Jordan, according to Devin Kharpertian of the Brooklyn Game (Twitter link; hat tip to NetsDaily). Failing to tender what would be a one-year offer of slightly more than $1.147MM would mean the Nets wouldn’t have the right to match competing offers for the reserve center when he enters free agency in July. Still, that wouldn’t preclude the Nets from re-signing him, notes Robert Windrem of NetsDaily (Twitter link), and coach Lionel Hollins likes the two-year veteran, according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter).
Jordan was a success story from training camp, having signed a one-year non-guaranteed deal that featured a partial guarantee of $100K only if he remained under contract through October 25th. He stuck for the whole season, earning his entire minimum salary of more than $816K as he averaged 3.1 points and 2.4 rebounds in 8.7 minutes per game across 44 appearances in the regular season. It was the Jamaican native’s first official NBA action since 2011/12, when he was with the Knicks, as he’d played in the D-League and overseas in the interim.
Extending the qualifying offer would leave the Nets vulnerable to having Jordan lock in a fully guaranteed salary at $200K more than the minimum for next season, a commitment that would be even more troublesome if the Nets end up having to pay repeat-offender tax penalties next year. Brooklyn can decline to make the qualifying offer and circle back later in the summer when the front office will ostensibly have a clearer picture of whether or not it’ll be in line to pay the tax, and the Nets can still retain Jordan’s Non-Bird rights in this scenario.