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Bogdanovic Receives Qualifying Offer From Kings

November 19th, 2020 at 6:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

6:15pm: The league has opened an investigation of the reported sign-and-trade agreement between the Kings and Bucks, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets.

5:34pm: The Kings have extended a $10.66MM qualifying offer to Bogdan Bogdanovic, making the shooting guard a restricted free agent, James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets.

The move was expected, as it gives Sacramento the right to match any offer for one of the more intriguing free agents on the market. He averaged 15.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 3.4 APG in 29.0 MPG last season and is a 37.4% career 3-point shooter.

Bogdanovic has been embroiled in controversy this week. Word leaked that the Bucks had reached a sign-and-trade agreement for Bogdanovic days before the start of free agency.

The teams hoped to bring Bogdanovic the framework of their proposed deal and negotiate his contract with Milwaukee on Friday. Instead, he decided to enter restricted free agency in search of an offer sheet or other sign-and-trade scenarios.

In that proposed deal, the Bucks would have received Bogdanovic and Justin James to Milwaukee in exchange for Ersan Ilyasova, D.J. Wilson, and Donte DiVincenzo. Milwaukee has decided to release Ilyasova, so a renewed effort to acquire Bogdanovic would require a restructured package.

Wizards Guarantee Isaac Bonga’s 2020/21 Salary

November 19th, 2020 at 6:09pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Wizards guard/forward Isaac Bonga will remain in D.C. for his third NBA season in 2020/21, as Washington has officially guaranteed his $1,663,861 salary, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The 6’8″ 21-year-old was drafted by the Lakers with the No. 39 pick in 2018 and sent to Washington as part of Los Angeles’ Anthony Davis deal last summer. The German Bonga began his pro career with the Skyliners Frankfurt of the BBL before entering the NBA draft in 2018.

Bonga emerged as a significant young contributor during his sophomore season with the Wizards, who qualified for the NBA’s Orlando restart before ultimately falling short of qualifying for a play-in game to appear in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Bonga appeared in 66 games for Washington, including 49 starts, averaging 5.0 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 18.9 MPG. He also developed an outside shot while with the Wizards, connecting on 35.2% of his 1.1 three point looks per night.

Pistons Won’t Extend Qualifying Offer To Thon Maker

November 19th, 2020 at 5:50pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Center Thon Maker will enter unrestricted free agency after the Pistons opted not to make him a qualifying offer ahead of his fifth NBA season, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The decision means that Maker will bypass restricted free agency in the open market.

The 7′ Maker was drafted by the Bucks with the No. 10 pick in the 2016 NBA draft, one spot ahead of future All-Star center Domantas Sabonis, who was selected with the No. 11 pick by the Magic. Maker may struggle to match or exceed the $4,861,854 qualifying offer the Pistons declined on the open market.

The 23-year-old appeared in 60 games for Detroit, averaging 12.9 minutes a night. The Pistons’ free agent priority among their 2019/20 holdovers this offseason is expected to be starting big man Christian Wood.

Sixers Cutting Ties With Norvel Pelle

November 19th, 2020 at 5:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The 76ers are waiving big man Norvel Pelle, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.

Pelle’s $1.52MM contract for next season would have become guaranteed if he hadn’t been waived by Friday. The 6’10” Pelle spent much of his professional career playing in the G League and overseas prior to making his NBA debut last season.

He appeared in 24 games, posting averages of 2.4 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 9.7 MPG. He also made one postseason cameo.

Celtics Pick Up Option On Ojeleye, Status Still Uncertain

November 19th, 2020 at 5:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Celtics have picked up Semi Ojeleye‘s team option for next season, Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets.

Ojeleye’s contract remains non-guaranteed until Saturday. If Boston guarantees his deal, he’ll have a salary of $1.75MM.

That’s a bargain price for a rotation piece. Ojeleye appeared in 69 regular-season games last season, including six starts, and averaged 3.4 PPG and 2.1 RPG in 14.7 MPG.

However, it’s unlikely Ojeleye’s contract will be guaranteed, Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe tweets. His status could be affected by the Gordon Hayward situation and other potential deals, Himmelsbach adds. Hayward decided to opt out of his contract so that he could become an unrestricted free agent.

Ojeleye was a 2017 second-round pick and has appeared in 198 games with Boston over three seasons.

Suns Turn Down Team Option On Cheick Diallo

November 19th, 2020 at 4:51pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Big man Cheick Diallo is now an unrestricted free agent heading into his fifth season, after the Suns decided to not pick up his $1,824,003 team option, per Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype (Twitter link).

After spending his first three seasons with the Pelicans, Diallo agreed to a two-year veteran’s minimum deal with the Suns last summer. Diallo was drafted with the No. 33 pick in 2016. Scotto notes that the 6’8″ forward/center out of Kansas is reputable around the league as having a “high motor.”

A little-used reserve in 2019/20, the 24-year-old Diallo averaged 4.7 PPG and 2.8 RPG. Across 47 games, he logged an average of 10.2 MPG.

Dakota Mathias, 76ers Agree To Two-Way Contract

November 19th, 2020 at 4:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers have agreed to a two-way contract with G League guard Dakota Mathias, Derek Bodner of The Athletic tweets.

Mathias, 25, played last season for the Mavericks’ affiliate, the Texas Legends. He averaged 18.1 PPG and 3.1 APG while shooting 39.5% on 3-point attempts.

Mathias was not selected in the 2019 draft after spending four seasons at Purdue. He was in Dallas’ camp last season but was waived prior to signing with the Legends. He has yet to make his NBA debut.

Two-way players are eligible to play up to 50 NBA games next season.

QO Updates: Wanamaker, Hernangomez, Fall, Chiozza, More

November 19th, 2020 at 4:39pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics won’t be making a qualifying offer to guard Brad Wanamaker, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). The decision will ensure that Wanamaker becomes an unrestricted free agent on Friday, rather than an RFA.

The decision is a little surprising, as Wanamaker’s QO would only have been worth about $1.82MM. And he was a fairly reliable bench contributor in Boston in 2019/20, averaging 6.9 PPG and 2.5 APG on .448/.363/.926 shooting in 71 games (19.3 MPG). However, with Aaron Nesmith and Payton Pritchard entering the mix, the Celtics don’t have a ton of roster spots to go around.

There’s still a chance that Wanamaker could return to the Celtics, particularly if Gordon Hayward ends up elsewhere, tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.

Here are several more updates on qualifying offer decisions from around the NBA:

The Timberwolves, as expected, tendered a qualifying offer to power forward Juan Hernangomez, making him a restricted free agent, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). That QO is worth about $4.6MM. Hernangomez could accept it, but is more likely to try to negotiate a new, longer-term deal with Minnesota.
The Celtics extended qualifying offers to both of their two-way players, Tacko Fall and Tremont Waters, the team announced in a press release. Those QOs are for new two-way deals with $50K guarantees.
The Pacers won’t extend qualifying offers to big man Alize Johnson or two-way players Brian Bowen and Naz Mitrou-Long, tweets Scotto. All three players will become unrestricted free agents.
Among other two-way players, Nets guard Chris Chiozza will receive a qualifying offer, but Pelicans guard Josh Gray won’t, according to Scotto (Twitter links). The Heat also won’t send a QO to two-way player Kyle Alexander, tweets Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Hornets Decline Qualifying Offer For Dwayne Bacon

November 19th, 2020 at 4:26pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Hornets will not give a qualifying offer to shooting guard Dwayne Bacon ahead of his fourth NBA season, making him an unrestricted free agent, per an official team press release tweet.

In June, Bacon spoke about hoping for an opportunity with another team ahead of the offseason, which appeared to indicate that a separation could be on the horizon.

The 6’6″ 25-year-old out of Florida State remained a bench player during his tenure with the Hornets. During the 2019/20 season, Bacon averaged 5.7 PPG, and 2.6 PG across 39 games, while shooting just 34.8% from the field.

Bacon joins Hornets centers Bismack Biyombo and Willy Hernangomez in free agency. Earlier this week, another potential Charlotte free agent, forward Nicolas Batum, opted in to his lucrative $27.13MM player option for the season.

Avery Bradley Opts Out, Headed To Free Agency

November 19th, 2020 at 4:19pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers guard Avery Bradley will decline his $5MM option in order to enter unrestricted free agency, Chris Haynes of Yahoo tweets.

Bradley played a prominent role for the eventual champions prior to the restart, appearing in 49 games, including 44 starts. He averaged 8.6 PPG, 2.3 RPG and 1.3 APG. Bradley opted out of the restart and his minutes were filled by a variety of players.

Had Bradley opted in, his role would likely have diminished due to the addition of Dennis Schroder. The Lakers officially completed their trade for the high-scoring point guard with the Thunder on Wednesday.

There should be some competition for Bradley’s services. Multiple contenders are expected to court Bradley, who recently signed with a new agent.