David Nwaba is no longer a restricted free agent, meaning he can sign outright with any NBA team, and interested clubs are checking in on the young shooting guard. According to TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link), several teams have reached out to Nwaba, including the Spurs and Lakers. There’s no clear frontrunner at this point, Aldridge adds.
[RELATED: Bulls rescind qualifying offer for David Nwaba]
Nwaba, who was eligible for restricted free agency this summer, received a qualifying offer from the Bulls last month, giving the team the right of first refusal on any offer sheet he signed. However, Chicago withdrew that QO on Thursday, despite its modest price ($1.7MM), leading to speculation that the club is maximizing its cap room for a bigger move.
Despite making Nwaba an unrestricted free agent, the Bulls haven’t given up hope of re-signing him. Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer tweets that the Bulls have interest in using the room exception to bring back Nwaba after they use up their cap space. A source confirmed to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune that the team hasn’t ruled out re-signing Nwaba once it completes other business.
In order to retain Nwaba though, the Bulls would have to count on the 25-year-old waiting out the team’s other move(s) and being willing to accept the $4.45MM room exception. Those aren’t unreasonable requests, but if Nwaba gets a comparable offer from another suitor, he may not want to wait on Chicago.
A former undrafted free agent, Nwaba had a solid season for the Bulls in 2017/18, averaging 7.9 PPG and 4.7 RPG while playing strong perimeter defense in 70 games (21 starts).
If Boston can sell him on winning a championship they could sign him using the biannual exception, and then sign and trade away smart for another rotation player.
didn’t the lakers have him to start out??
Yeah, he was originally with the Lakers. Didn’t get much run, now he’s a proven asset on the defensive side. I’m a little surprised that Houston isn’t a potential suitor after losing their two best perimeter defenders in Ariza and Luc.
He might want a little more than the Rockets are willing to offer at the moment. The Rockets probably want to figure out what’s going to happen with Capela before anything else.
How can Boston sell him on winning a championship? Didn’t know they were gonna win it this year. I thought GSW were gonna win the next 2-3. Personally I see Philly better positioned in the east to compete against the west. They can sell him on a long playoff run, maybe ECF, but a ring I think is a bit of a stretch