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Mavs Withdraw Salah Mejri’s Qualifying Offer

June 28th, 2018 at 3:32pm CST by Luke Adams

For the second time this week, the Mavericks have rescinded a player’s qualifying offer shortly after issuing it. According to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), the club’s QO for Salah Mejri is no longer on the table, putting the big man on track to become an unrestricted free agent.

Mejri, 32, only has three years of NBA experience under his belt. In 2017/18, he posted 3.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 1.1 BPG in 61 games (12.0 MPG) for the Mavericks. He’ll be free to sign with any team once he reaches the open market next week, as will teammate Doug McDermott, who also had his qualifying offer withdrawn by Dallas this week.

Mejri’s qualifying offer was worth a modest $1.84MM, so it’s not entirely clear why the Mavs wanted to remove it from their books. As the team explores acquiring DeAndre Jordan, either via trade or free agency, every bit of cap flexibility could help, so perhaps the club didn’t want to risk having Mejri and/or McDermott accept their QOs once the new league year gets underway.

The Mavs still have one qualifying offer on the table for Yogi Ferrell. It’s worth approximately $2.92MM.

Cavs Pick Up Perkins’ Option For Trade Purposes

June 28th, 2018 at 1:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JUNE 28: The move is now official, according to RealGM’s NBA transactions log.

JUNE 27: The Cavaliers have decided to pick up their $2.445MM option on center Kendrick Perkins‘ contract, Dave McMenamin of ESPN reports. Cleveland had to make a decision by Friday whether to pick up his option.

The move was made to give the Cavs the option of adding his contract for a potential trade, McMenamin continues. Perkins’ salary is still non-guaranteed, but it would become guaranteed if he’s included in a trade. This also signals that Cleveland isn’t afraid to add to its already bloated payroll in order to improve the team, despite the uncertainty of LeBron James‘ future with the franchise.

A no-trade restriction on Perkins will be lifted on July 11.

Perkins, 33, was signed the last day of the regular season and appeared in that game but didn’t play in the postseason. He also played for Cleveland during the preseason.

He hadn’t appeared an NBA game since the 2015/16 season with the Pelicans.

Zach LaVine On Kings’ Radar, Receives QO From Bulls

June 28th, 2018 at 1:28pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls have tendered a qualifying offer to Zach LaVine putting him on track to become a restricted free agent on Sunday, per RealGM’s official transactions log. When LaVine reaches the open market, he can expect to draw interest from the Kings, according to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune, who hears from league sources that Sacramento is considering signing LaVine to an offer sheet.

After failing to meet the starter criteria due to his ACL injury, LaVine is in line for a qualifying offer worth $4,333,932. The 23-year-old could accept that one-year offer from the Bulls with an eye toward unrestricted free agency in 2019, but he’s more likely to sign a long-term deal this summer.

LaVine could receive that long-term offer from the Kings, who project to have up to about $19MM in cap room, assuming Garrett Temple exercises his player option. That would be enough to accommodate a lucrative multiyear offer for LaVine, though the Bulls would likely match something in the four-year, $80MM range, according to Johnson. An offer closer to the max would give Chicago pause, Johnson adds. Based on a $101MM cap, a four-year max contract projects to be worth over $108MM.

The Bulls viewed LaVine as a franchise building block when they acquired him from the Timberwolves last summer. Although the team still envisions having LaVine on its roster for years to come, the front office also wants to make sure not to overpay the young guard, and would like to maintain flexibility to add another core piece if the opportunity arises, writes Johnson.

LaVine is one of a handful of Bulls who are eligible for restricted free agency. We heard earlier today that David Nwaba has received a qualifying offer from the club, and two-way player Ryan Arcidiacono got one too, according to RealGM’s transactions log.

Noah Vonleh isn’t in Chicago’s plans and won’t receive a qualifying offer, according to Johnson. Vonleh will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Bulls Extend Qualifying Offer To David Nwaba

June 28th, 2018 at 11:11am CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls have issued a qualifying offer to shooting guard David Nwaba, ensuring that he’ll become a restricted free agent on Sunday, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).

The move had been expected, since Nwaba’s qualifying offer will only be worth about $1.7MM and he has developed into a solid rotation player over the course of two NBA seasons. In 2017/18, Nwaba averaged 7.9 PPG and 4.7 RPG in 70 games (23.5 MPG) for the Bulls. The 25-year-old is also viewed as a strong perimeter defender.

Nwaba will now have the option of accepting his one-year qualifying offer, negotiating a new agreement with the Bulls, or trying to secure an offer sheet from a rival suitor. If Nwaba signs with another team, Chicago would have two days to decide whether or not to match his offer sheet.

Nwaba is one of three Bulls veterans eligible for restricted free agency this summer. Zach LaVine and Noah Vonleh are in line for qualifying offers worth approximately $4.33MM — LaVine is a lock to receive one, while Vonleh isn’t.

Spurs Issue QOs To Anderson, Forbes, Hilliard

June 28th, 2018 at 8:52am CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs have extended qualifying offers to Kyle Anderson, Bryn Forbes, and Darrun Hilliard, according to RealGM’s official transactions log. A previous report indicated that San Antonio also issued a QO to Davis Bertans, so all four players are on track to become restricted free agents on Sunday.

Anderson, 24, stepped into the starting lineup in Kawhi Leonard‘s place in 2017/18, making 67 starts for the Spurs during the regular season. As a result, he met the starter criteria, increasing the value of his qualifying offer to $4,749,591.

The Spurs’ other qualifying offers are more modest. Forbes and Bertans will receive identical QOs worth approximately $1.7MM, while Hilliard – a two-way player – will receive a one-year, two-way contract offer with a $50K guarantee.

Any of those four players could simply sign their one-year qualifying offer, but they’ll have other options, including negotiating a new agreement with the Spurs or seeking out an offer sheet from another team. If any of the four RFAs signs an offer sheet with a rival suitor, San Antonio would have the right of first refusal, and would have to decide within two days whether to match it.

Of the Spurs players eligible for qualifying offers, only one – Matt Costello – hasn’t received one. Assuming Costello doesn’t get a QO, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent on Sunday, while San Antonio would open up one of its two-way contract slots.

Two-Way QO Decisions: Walton, Cooke, Craig, More

June 28th, 2018 at 8:02am CST by Dana Gauruder

Derrick Walton Jr. has received a qualifying offer from the Heat, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets. Walton, who had been on a two-way contract with the Heat, will thus be a restricted free agent next month. The undrafted 6’1” point guard out of Michigan appeared in 16 games with Miami last season.

As is the case for all two-way players who remain eligible to sign another two-way deal, the qualifying offer Walton received from the Heat will be a two-way contract offer with a $50K guarantee.

We have several other qualifying offer decisions involving two-way players to pass along:

The Pelicans will not make Charles Cooke a qualifying offer, Michael Scotto of The Athletic tweets. Cooke, an undrafted 6’5” shooting guard out of Dayton, appeared in 13 games for the Pelicans.
The Nuggets made a qualifying offer to Torrey Craig, ensuring he’ll be a restricted free agent, Gina Mizell of the Denver Post writes. The 6’6” Craig saw quite a bit of action with Denver last season, averaging 4.2 PP and 3.3 RPG in 16.1 MPG while making 39 appearances. The 27-year-old went undrafted in 2014, then played in Australia and New Zealand before the Nuggets signed him.
The Magic will not make a qualifying offer to Jamel Artis, Sportando tweets. The 6’7” Artis, who went undrafted out of Pittsburgh in 2017, saw action in 15 games and averaged 5.1 PPG, 2.5 RPG and 1.2 APG in 18.6 MPG. Artis will be on the Cavaliers‘ Summer League squad, Dave McMenamin of ESPN tweets.
The Kings have issued a qualifying offer to two-way player JaKarr Sampson, per RealGM’s transactions log. No QO is listed for Jack Cooley, Sacramento’s other two-way player, so it’s possible Cooley will reach the market as an unrestricted free agent.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Paul George Declining Player Option

June 28th, 2018 at 7:23am CST by Luke Adams

Paul George has informed the Thunder that he’ll turn down his player option for 2018/19 and will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The move had long been anticipated. While it might make sense in some cases for veterans to opt into the final year of their contracts, George’s $20,703,384 option salary is far below his projected $30MM+ maximum salary, so picking up the option would have made little financial sense.

Additionally, the Lakers and Thunder are widely considered the frontrunners to land George. Los Angeles will have the cap space to sign George outright, while Oklahoma City has his Bird rights and can go over the cap to sign him. As such, exercising the option to facilitate a trade was always a long shot for the star forward.

While the Lakers and Thunder are the most serious contenders for George, the Rockets and Sixers are interested in pursuing him too, sources tell Wojnarowski. The Cavaliers were also previously said to be interested in George. However, his option decision will make it tricky for over-the-cap teams like Houston and Cleveland to land him, since those teams don’t have easy paths to cap room, and a sign-and-trade deal would only be permitted if they’re willing to remain below the tax apron ($6MM above the tax line) all season.

George is eligible to sign a five-year contract worth a projected $175MM+ with the Thunder this offseason, or a four-year deal worth approximately $130MM with a rival suitor like the Lakers. The five-time All-Star may ultimately sign a one-plus-one contract (a two-year deal with a player option) though, since doing so would allow him to reach free agency again in 2019, when the cap is projected to increase to $108MM.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rockets Pick Up D’Antoni’s Option Year

June 27th, 2018 at 9:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

9:04pm: The decision to pick up D’Antoni’s option is official, the team tweets.

6:00pm: The Rockets have picked up the option year on head coach Mike D’Antoni‘s contract, which guarantees the deal through the 2019/20 season, Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweets.

D’Antoni originally signed a three year, $15MM contract with a fourth-year team option when he was named Houston’s head coach in June 2016.

D’Antoni has enjoyed a career revival of sorts with the Rockets. His reputation took a hit after stints with the Knicks and Lakers went sour. He found work as Brett Brown’s associate head coach for two seasons before the Rockets gave him another shot to be a head man.

It turned out to be a wise decision. D’Antoni was named the NBA Coach of the Year last summer after the team won 55 regular-season games and reached the Western Conference semifinals. The Rockets had the league’s best record this season at 65-17, then came up one win shy of the Finals during the conference finals, an outcome that might have changed if Chris Paul hadn’t missed the last two games against the Warriors with a hamstring injury.

Suns Won’t Re-Sign Elfrid Payton, Alex Len

June 27th, 2018 at 3:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns don’t intend to re-sign either Elfrid Payton or Alex Len in free agency, reports Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic (via Twitter).

Payton is eligible for restricted free agency, but with no plans to re-sign him, the Suns won’t tender Payton a $4.75MM qualifying offer, clearing the way for him to reach unrestricted free agency. As for Len, renouncing the veteran center would clear his $7.96MM cap hold from the Suns’ books, creating additional cap flexibility for the team.

Without trading or releasing any players on guaranteed contracts for 2018/19, the Suns currently project to reach approximately $18MM in cap room. That space should give the team the opportunity to make a competitive offer to one standout free agent, or to make offers to a pair of mid-level type players.

Payton, the 10th overall pick in the 2014 draft, never developed into the sort impact player the Magic hoped for. He was traded to Phoenix in a mid-season deal in 2017/18, and posted 11.8 PPG, 6.2 APG, and 5.3 RPG in 19 starts for his new team. Payton’s inability to make outside shots (.298 career 3PT%) limits his appeal.

Len, meanwhile, was a restricted free agent a year ago and signed his one-year qualifying offer with the Suns, putting himself in line for unrestricted free agency this summer. The 25-year-old, who averaged 8.5 PPG and 7.5 RPG in 2017/18, has long been expected to leave Phoenix — he said back in March that he’d “probably” end up with another team, and was looking forward to choosing his NBA home for the first time in his career.

Raptors Issue QOs To VanVleet, Miller, De Colo

June 27th, 2018 at 3:24pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have extended qualifying offers to Fred VanVleet, Malcolm Miller, and Nando De Colo, ensuring that all three players will become restricted free agents, the team announced today (via Twitter).

VanVleet, the most notable of the three players, had a breakout season for the Raptors in 2017/18. The leader of the team’s second unit, VanVleet averaged 8.6 PPG and 3.2 APG with a .414 3PT% and was a finalist for the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award. His qualifying offer is worth just under $1.7MM.

As Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca detailed earlier today, the Raptors are wary of a rival suitor back-loading an offer sheet to VanVleet via the Arenas provision. However, if the 24-year-old doesn’t receive any over-the-top offers from other teams, there’s a good chance he’ll remain in Toronto on a new multiyear deal.

Miller was on a two-way contract with the Raptors in 2017/18, so his QO will be a one-year, two-way contract offer with a $50K guarantee.

As for De Colo, he hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2013/14 season, but the Raptors have retained the right of first refusal on the 31-year-old since then by issuing qualifying offers each year. De Colo seems unlikely to return to the NBA at this point, given his success overseas — the CSKA Moscow guard has earned First Team All-EuroLeague honors for three straight seasons. As such, the Raps’ QO looks like a mere formality.

The only Raptors player eligible for restricted free agency who didn’t receive a qualifying offer today is Lucas Nogueira. The team has a couple more days to issue a QO if it changes its mind, but it appears Nogueira will become an unrestricted free agent when the new league year begins.