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Nuggets Exercise Paul Millsap’s Team Option

June 29th, 2019 at 12:48pm CST by Luke Adams

12:48pm: The Nuggets have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve picked up Millsap’s option.

11:54am: The Nuggets are picking up their team option for 2019/20 on big man Paul Millsap, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The option will pay Millsap $30.35MM for next season, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Millsap, 34, played a slightly reduced role for Denver in 2018/19. His 12.6 PPG and 27.1 MPG were his lowest marks since the 2009/10 campaign. However, his interior presence helped stabilize the Nuggets’ defense, and he also chipped in as a rebounder (7.2 RPG) and outside threat (.365 3PT%).

There was some uncertainty over whether the Nuggets would exercise Millsap’s option, given its cost. The team was believed to be exploring whether turning down that option and bringing back Millsap on a more favorable multiyear contract was possible. However, as Marks points out (via Twitter), a deal along those lines would have cut into Denver’s projected cap space for 2020, which may represent the club’s best chance to spend.

If Denver had decided to move on from Millsap altogether, the team could have opened up about $17MM in cap room to pursue an outside free agent. Instead, as Wojnarowski tweets, the Nuggets are in position to potentially use their full mid-level exception ($9.25MM) and still sneak under the projected tax line.

Millsap, meanwhile, is now on track to reach the unrestricted free agent market in 2020 at age 35.

Today represents the last day for clubs to exercise team options or for veterans to pick up player options, so the Nuggets took their decision on Millsap down to the wire.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Warriors Issue Qualifying Offer To Quinn Cook

June 29th, 2019 at 10:05am CST by marksuleymanov

The Warriors have issued a qualifying offer to point guard Quinn Cook, thus making him a restricted free agent, tweets Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes.

Golden State wields Cook’s Early Bird rights with his cap hold being $1,931,189. Cook becomes the second Warriors player in as many days to enter restricted free agency as Golden State also issued a qualifying offer to Jordan Bell.

Cook, 26, appeared in a career-high 74 games (10 starts) for the Warriors during the 2018-19 season. As the primary backup to Stephen Curry, Cook averaged 6.9 PPG and 1.6 APG in 14.3 minutes per contest. Cook’s perimeter shooting is his signature, evidenced by his 40.5% mark from beyond the arc last season.

Cook figures to draw significant interest, as teams may try to put pressure on a Warriors team focused on its other free agents.

Kings Issue Qualifying Offer To Willie Cauley-Stein

June 28th, 2019 at 11:44pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have tendered a qualifying offer to Willie Cauley-Stein, making the big man a restricted free agent, reports Sam Amick of The Athletic (via Twitter).

While the news was expected, it won’t thrill Cauley-Stein’s agent, Roger Montgomery, who said last weekend that his client needs a “fresh start” and would be better off with another team. Montgomery hoped that Sacramento would choose not to issue a qualifying offer to Cauley-Stein, allowing him to reach the open market as an unrestricted free agent.

The Kings have been linked to bigger-name free agent centers in recent weeks, and there’s a good chance they’ll let Cauley-Stein walk if they can land a player like Al Horford, Nikola Vucevic, or Brook Lopez. However, it wouldn’t have made sense for Sacramento not to give Cauley-Stein a qualifying offer — retaining the right of first refusal on WCS will give the Kings a solid fallback option if they strike out on other targets.

Cauley-Stein’s qualifying offer is worth $6,265,631, and he’ll have a cap hold of $14,090,625, per Basketball Insiders. That cap hold will cut into the Kings’ cap flexibility, but the team has the ability to renounce it and clear it from the books if it decides Cauley-Stein won’t be back.

In 81 games (27.3 MPG) for the Kings in 2018/19, Cauley-Stein – the sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft – averaged 11.9 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 2.4 APG.

Nets Extend Qualifying Offer To Theo Pinson

June 28th, 2019 at 11:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nets extended a qualifying offer to shooting guard Theo Pinson, making him a restricted free agent, Michael Scotto of The Athletic tweets.

Pinson’s qualifying offer is $1,734,917 and it can be rescinded if the Nets decide to use their cap room in other ways. They also extended a QO to more notable free agent, D’Angelo Russell, on Friday.

Pinson was on a two-way contract most of the season, then had it converted to a standard contract just before the postseason.

An undrafted free agent out of UNC, Pinson appeared in 18 regular-season games with the Nets as a rookie and averaged 4.5 PPG and 1.2 APG in 11.7 MPG. He also saw action in three playoff games, averaging 3.0 PPG in 7.3 MPG.

Pinson spent the bulk of the season in the G League. The 23-year-old posted averages of 20.7 PPG, 6.1 APG, and 5.9 RPG in 34 games with the Long Island Nets and was named to the All-NBAGL Second Team.

Warriors Extend Qualifying Offer To Jordan Bell

June 28th, 2019 at 11:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Warriors have made forward Jordan Bell a restricted free agent by extending him a qualifying offer, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Bell’s qualifying offer is $1,818,486. Bell had a generally disappointing regular season. He appeared in 68 games, averaging 3.3 PPG and 2.7 RPG in 11.3 MPG.

When injuries struck in the playoffs, Bell saw action in 15 games. The 6’9” Oregon product was a 2017 second-round pick.

He had an embarrassing incident in late March in which he put authorized charges to assistant coach Mike Brown‘s hotel room, leading to a one-game suspension. But the Warriors see enough potential in Bell to at least make it more challenging for another team to sign him.

Pistons Won’t Retain Glenn Robinson III

June 28th, 2019 at 6:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons will not pick up their option on swingman Glenn Robinson III, according to The Athletic’s James Edwards and Michael Scotto (Twitter links).

Robinson’s option was $4,278,750. Even with Robinson’s salary subtracted, the Pistons will be over the cap this summer. They’ll look to use the mid-level exception in free agency.

The move was expected, as Robinson was a major disappointment after signing a two-year deal with Detroit last summer. The Pistons were hoping that Robinson would revive his career with them after an ankle injury wrecked his 2017-18 campaign with the Pacers.

However, Robinson had a minimal impact on a team starving for 3-point shooting. He averaged 4.2 PPG in 13.0 MPG over 47 regular-season appearances while shooting just 29% from distance. Coach Dwane Casey at times used Robinson as an undersized power forward, though he mainly saw action at the wing spots.

Robinson appeared in three playoff games against the Bucks, averaging 4.3 PPG in 12.0 MPG.

Clippers Extend Qualifying Offers To Zubac, McGruder

June 28th, 2019 at 6:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers have extended a qualifying offer to center Ivica Zubac, making him a restricted free agent, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. They have also extended a QO to swingman Rodney McGruder, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets.

The Clippers declined forward Johnathan Motley‘s QO and he’ll be an unrestricted free agent, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. Motley was one of the team’s two-way players.

The move to make Zubac an RFA was a mere formality, as he impressed the Clippers after they acquired him from the Lakers at the trade deadline. His qualifying offer is $1,931,189 and the Clippers can now match any offer sheet for the young big man in free agency.

He averaged 9.4 PPG, 7.7 RPG and 1.5 APG in 20.2 MPG over 26 regular-season games after the deal, including 25 starts. The 7’1” Zubac, 22, saw reduced action in the postseason, averaging 9.8 MPG in four games during the first-round series against the Warriors.

Zubac, a 2016 second-round pick, was part of the February trade that sent veteran forward Mike Muscala to the Lakers.

McGruder’s QO is the same amount extended to Zubac. He was claimed by the Clippers in April after the Heat waived him for luxury-tax purposes. He did appear in any games with the Clippers and was ineligible for the postseason. He averaged 7.6 PPG, 3.6 RPG and 1.7 APG in 66 games with Miami last season, including 45 starts.

Nets Make D’Angelo Russell A Restricted Free Agent

June 28th, 2019 at 4:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nets have extended a $9,160,706 qualifying offer to guard D’Angelo Russell in order to make him a restricted free agent, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Russell has a cap hold of $21,059,095, meaning they’ll have approximately $46MM in cap space entering free agency. However, if they secure commitments from two other high-level free agents, they can still renounce Russell’s rights or not match an offer sheet for him, which would open up approximately $68MM in cap space.

Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant as expected to be Brooklyn’s top targets and there have been conflicting reports whether they’d retain Russell if Irving commits and Durant doesn’t.

The Nets can offer Russell a five-year, $158MM deal while the biggest offer sheet he could receive is $117MM over four years.

The Magic, Timberwolves, Pacers and Lakers are some possible suitors for Russell in free agency. Russell was a finalist for the league’s Most Improved Player award after averaging 21.1 PPG and 7.0 APG in 81 games this season.

Wolves Waive Cam Reynolds

June 28th, 2019 at 3:25pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Minnesota is waiving Cameron Reynolds, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The team would have interest in re-signing the shooting guard should it miss out on other targets this offseason, Darren Wolfson of Eyewitness News tweets.

Reynolds had agreed to a multi-year deal with the Timberwolves toward the end of the 2018/19 season after inking back-to-back 10-day deals with the club. The contract was non-guaranteed, though he would have received $50K had he remained on the roster through August 1, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

The Tulane product went undrafted last year and signed on with the Kings last summer. He was released prior to the season and spent much of his time in the G League, playing for Sacramento’s affiliate.

Bucks To Waive George Hill

June 28th, 2019 at 3:19pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, the Bucks will release George Hill, putting him on track to become an unrestricted free agent, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The final year of Hill’s contract in 2019/20 featured a $18MM salary, but only $1MM of that figure was guaranteed. By cutting the veteran guard before July 1, the Bucks will avoid having that full guarantee hit their cap for next season.

According to Charania, the Bucks are working to find the space to re-sign Hill, if possible. That suggests they won’t stretch his $1MM cap hit, since doing so would make them ineligible to sign him for 2019/20.

After trading away Tony Snell, the Bucks currently project to have about $13MM in cap room, as I noted in my preview of Milwaukee’s offseason this morning. However, the team is expected to use that room to try to re-sign Brook Lopez before going over the cap to lock up Khris Middleton and Malcolm Brogdon.

The Bucks could open up additional cap room for Hill by waiving and stretching Jon Leuer or by trading away Ersan Ilyasova without taking back salary. Alternately, the team could use its current cap room to try to bring back Hill if Lopez signs elsewhere.

If the Bucks aren’t able to re-sign Hill, he should draw interest from several other teams. He had a strong postseason run in Milwaukee, averaging 11.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 2.8 APG with a .534/.417/.818 shooting line in 15 games (26.3 MPG). The Bulls are one team with interest, per K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter link).