While potential starters like Danny Green, DeMarcus Cousins, Marcus Morris, and – of course – Kawhi Leonard remain available on the NBA’s unrestricted free agent market, many of the other most intriguing names out there are restricted free agents. As of Thursday morning, nine restricted free agents don’t yet have contract agreements in place.
[RELATED: 2019 NBA Free Agents]
Given the limited leverage that restricted free agents have, it’s not unusual for their situations to drag on throughout the offseason — a year ago, Patrick McCaw‘s restricted free agency wasn’t resolved until nearly halfway through the regular season. So it’s possible that some of the RFAs still on the board might not be reaching a deal anytime soon.
On the other hand, teams seem to be a little more receptive than usual this year to working out deals allowing their restricted free agents to find new homes — we’ve seen no offers sheets for RFAs so far this offseason.
D’Angelo Russell, Terry Rozier, Malcolm Brogdon, Tomas Satoransky, and Jake Layman will all be landing with new teams via sign-and-trade deals. Willie Cauley-Stein and Bobby Portis reached agreements with new clubs after their previous teams willingly withdrew their qualifying offers, and it sounds like that will be the case with Jordan Bell as well.
[RELATED: 2019 NBA Free Agent Tracker]
While we wait to see whether teams are willing to be as accommodating for the rest of this year’s RFAs, here’s a breakdown of the ones still on the market:
Kelly Oubre, F (Suns): The Suns’ cost-cutting trade for Kyle Korver was designed to allow the team to sign Ricky Rubio while still retaining Oubre’s cap hold, so it looks like Phoenix plans to re-sign him.- Ivica Zubac, C (Clippers): There has been little word on where things stand with Zubac, but the Clippers still have a ton of cap flexibility, particularly if Kawhi Leonard signs elsewhere, so I don’t expect them to be outbid for the young center.
- Tyus Jones, G (Timberwolves): If the Wolves had been able to land D’Angelo Russell, the odds of Jones’ return would have dipped, but with no point guards incoming via free agency, Minnesota will probably do its best to retain Jones.
- Delon Wright, G (Grizzlies): There are a ton of moving pieces on the Grizzlies’ roster, and Wright’s future could be tied to whether the team decides to retain Avery Bradley and guarantee his $12.96MM salary, since Memphis is inching closer to the tax line. The Mavericks and Timberwolves were said to have expressed some interest in Wright earlier this week.
- Khem Birch, C (Magic): Birch was said in June to be an under-the-radar free agent drawing significant interest. That makes him one of the more intriguing names on this list, since Orlando looks to be right around the tax line after agreeing to lucrative new deals for Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross. I woulnd’t think the Magic would match an aggressive offer sheet for Birch unless they could shed other salary and avoid the tax.
- Trey Lyles, F (Nuggets): Denver remains about $11MM+ below the tax line after picking up Paul Millsap‘s team option, so the club has some flexibility to bring back Lyles if it wants to.
- Patrick McCaw, G (Raptors): There has been little to no chatter about McCaw so far, but that’s not a surprise. The Raptors’ offseason business is on hold until Leonard makes a decision, and McCaw’s restricted free agency in 2018 showed he’s very willing to be patient.
- Nando De Colo, G (Raptors): De Colo had been hoping to make a return to the NBA this year, but a recent Sportando report indicated that he may end up remaining overseas and joining Turkish club Fenerbahce.
- Theo Pinson, G/F (Nets): We haven’t heard any updates on Pinson since he received his qualifying offer, but the Nets will need to maximize their cap flexibility to add Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and DeAndre Jordan, making him a candidate to be renounced.
Note: There are also five two-way restricted free agents still on the market. That list can be found here.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Am I right that two-way RFAs, such as Damion Lee, offer from their teams, is a two-way contract with 50k protected, as long as they are eligible for another two-way contract? Thanks.
Yes. The only two-way player who got a QO this year and doesn’t meet that criteria is Alex Caruso (his QO is a one-year, min-salary offer, since he’d already been on a two-way deal with the Lakers for two years).
Thank you! Trying to figure out the Warriors salary–Marks puts them at $215k from the apron and for the life of me I can’t see how he gets there. Lee doesn’t count, I see.
This site really glorifies the significance of Nando de Colo
I mean, the Raptors have essentially been willing to offer him more than the minimum for each of the last six years, so he has a little value!
He was a beast on EuroLeague daily fantasy. Seems like he’s a top 10 or so player over there.
I think (hope) the Nets will keep Pinson. They need his dance on the bench. :-) He may accept the QO, unless another team gives him a poison pill offer the Nets can’t swallow. Of course, that team would have to swallow it itself. He’s a good, young, energetic player but not one you’d break the bank to get.
Theo led their bench mob for sure. He also has a ton of upside. He was ranked higher out of high school than most of the guys drafted in 2015 like DLo and I think even KAT. I think Jah Okafor was ranked higher than him though.
That’s 3 time NBA champion Patrick McCaw.