The Celtics made a qualifying offer to Jae Crowder worth $1.2MM, making the forward a restricted free agent, which means the Celtics can match any offer he receives from another team, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com reports. Crowder has expressed an interest to return to the Celtics, but also plans to test the market.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- Marc Gasol has no interest in joining the Lakers because of the shaky final few years his brother spent with the team, reports Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, who cites sources familiar with the situation.
- Knicks president Phil Jackson is interested in re-signing Jason Smith as a backup center and combo guard Alexey Shved, who played well late in the season, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports.
- The Jazz are expected to make a significant attempt to bring draft-and-stash center Tibor Pleiss, who is from Germany, to the team next season, Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune tweets. Pleiss traveled to Utah to discuss the possibility of joining the team this upcoming season, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News writes, adding that the Jazz are in need of a solid backup at center for Rudy Gobert.
- Luka Mitrovic, a forward from Serbia who the Sixers took with the final pick of the draft, will stay overseas next season, Orazio Cauchi of Sportando tweets.