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Knicks Waive Lance Thomas

June 29th, 2019 at 3:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JUNE 29: As expected, the Knicks have waived Thomas, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

JUNE 14: The Knicks plan on waiving forward Lance Thomas, though they have interest in re-signing him, Ian Begley of SNY TV reports.

Thomas has a non-guaranteed contract of $7.58MM for next season and would receive $1MM if he’s on the roster through June 30. Thomas’ salary is the largest on the Knicks’ ledger. Waiving him would give them even more cap space to pursue free agents and blockbuster trades.

However, the club appreciates Thomas for his leadership and willingness to mentor younger players, according to Begley, so it would try to re-sign him at a reduced rate. With the team intend on giving its younger players experience, Thomas appeared in just 46 games this past season. He averaged 4.5 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 17.0 MPG.

He has been in the Knicks organization since the 2014/15 season after starting his career in New Orleans in 2011. Thomas, 31, also appeared in 22 games with Oklahoma City before joining the Knicks. He’s entering the final year of a four-year, $27.5MM contract, which he signed in 2016.

Rockets’ Nene To Opt Out

June 29th, 2019 at 1:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran Rockets center Nene has decided to opt out of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Nene’s contract featured a $3,825,360 player option for the 2019/20 season, which he’ll turn down.

Nene, 36, averaged a career-low 13.0 minutes per contest in Houston last season, recording 3.6 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 42 games.

Given his age and his increasingly limited role with the Rockets, Nene’s decision to forgo a salary of nearly $4MM isn’t one I anticipated. It will be interesting to see how he does on the open market — perhaps his agent got word that another team is ready to put a more favorable offer on the table, or perhaps he’s doing Houston a favor.

The Rockets are said to be in the running for Jimmy Butler, who would have to be acquired in a sign-and-trade deal. That would put a hard cap on Houston’s spending for the 2019/20 league year.

Removing Nene’s $3.8MM cap hit from their books would give the Rockets some much-needed flexibility in that scenario and the veteran big man could still theoretically return on a minimum salary deal. He’d earn a projected $2.56MM on a one-year minimum contract, but would only have a cap hit of about $1.62MM.

Of course, it’s possible Nene won’t seek a new contract at all. According to Alykhan Bijani of The Athletic (via Twitter), retirement is a viable possibility for the former seventh overall pick.

Nene’s player option decision was the last one to be reported for the 2019/20 season. The full list can be found here.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nuggets Extend Qualifying Offer To Trey Lyles

June 29th, 2019 at 12:53pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Nuggets remain busy ahead of free agency. Denver exercised the $30.35MM team option on Paul Millsap earlier today and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets that the team will extend a qualifying offer to Trey Lyles.

Lyles’ qualifying offer comes in at approximately $4.46MM. After exercising Millsap’s option, the team won’t sniff any available cap space, though they still have to be wary about staying below the tax line.

Lyles came to the Nuggets during the 2017 draft as part of a trade that allowed the Jazz to move up to No. 13 overall. Utah selected Donovan Mitchell with the pick and Denver came away with Tyler Lydon at No. 24.

During his two years in Denver, Lyles played 137 games, starting four contests. His showcased solid three-point shooting to begin his career, though he hasn’t matched or surpassed his career-high 38.3% from behind the arc since his rookie season.

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.