Players eligible for restricted free agency don’t become restricted free agents by default. In order for a team to make a player a restricted free agent, it must extend a qualifying offer to him. The qualifying offer, which is essentially just a one-year contract offer, varies in amount depending on a player’s previous contract status.
A qualifying offer is designed to give a player’s current team the right of first refusal. Because the qualifying offer acts as the first formal contract offer a free agent receives, his team then has the option to match any offer sheet the player signs with another club. If a player doesn’t receive a qualifying offer, he becomes an unrestricted free agent and is free to sign with any team — his previous club is given no formal opportunity to match.
You can read more about qualifying offers here.
Listed below are the players believed to be eligible to receive qualifying offers this season, with details on which players did and didn’t get them. Our list is based on information from RealGM’s official NBA transactions log, along with various reports and team announcements leading up to the November 19 deadline.
It’s possible that one or two qualifying offers slipped through the cracks and will be reported later today before free agency officially gets underway — if so, we’ll update this list. For now though, this is what the qualifying offer landscape looks like. The players who received QOs will be restricted free agents, while the players who didn’t will be unrestricted.
Received qualifying offers:
Players on standard contracts:
- Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kings ($10,661,733)
- Brandon Ingram, Pelicans ($9,481,458)
- Dario Saric, Suns ($5,087,871)
- Denzel Valentine, Bulls ($4,642,800)
- Jakob Poeltl, Spurs ($4,642,800)
- Juan Hernangomez, Timberwolves ($4,642,800)
- Malik Beasley, Timberwolves ($3,895,424)
- Torrey Craig, Nuggets ($2,500,000)
- Chris Boucher, Raptors ($1,985,289)
- Nando De Colo, Raptors ($1,828,750)
- De’Anthony Melton, Grizzlies ($1,820,564)
- Gary Clark, Magic ($1,820,524)
- Jevon Carter, Suns ($1,820,564)
- Jontay Porter, Grizzlies ($1,645,697)
Players on two-way contracts:
Note: Qualifying offers for two-way players are one-year, two-way contracts with a $50K guarantee unless otherwise indicated.
- Frank Mason, Bucks
- Adam Mokoka, Bulls
- Tacko Fall, Celtics
- Tremont Waters, Celtics
- John Konchar, Grizzlies
- Gabe Vincent, Heat
- Jarrell Brantley, Jazz
- DaQuan Jeffries, Kings
- Jared Harper, Knicks
- Chris Chiozza, Nets
- Zylan Cheatham, Pelicans
- Oshae Brissett, Raptors
- Drew Eubanks, Spurs
- Quinndary Weatherspoon, Spurs
- Kelan Martin, Timberwolves
- Jordan McLaughlin, Timberwolves
- Garrison Mathews, Wizards
Did not receive qualifying offers:
Players on standard contracts:
- Sterling Brown, Bucks
- Kris Dunn, Bulls
- Shaquille Harrison, Bulls
- Brad Wanamaker, Celtics
- DeAndre’ Bembry, Hawks
- Damian Jones, Hawks
- Skal Labissiere, Hawks
- Dwayne Bacon, Hornets
- Damyean Dotson, Knicks
- Theo Pinson, Knicks
- Melvin Frazier, Magic
- Wesley Iwundu, Magic
- Alize Johnson, Pacers
- Frank Jackson, Pelicans
- Kenrich Williams, Pelicans
- Thon Maker, Pistons
- Malcolm Miller, Raptors
- Deonte Burton, Thunder
- Wenyen Gabriel, Trail Blazers
Players on two-way contracts:
Note: Some players who finished the season on two-way contracts signed two-year deals, making them ineligible for free agency this summer. They remain under contract. Additionally, some of the players listed below may not have spent enough time on an NBA active roster to be eligible for a qualifying offer.
- Cameron Reynolds, Bucks
- Max Strus, Bulls
- Johnathan Motley, Clippers
- Yuta Watanabe, Grizzlies
- Charlie Brown, Hawks
- Kyle Alexander, Heat
- Kobi Simmons, Hornets
- Justin Wright-Foreman, Jazz
- Kostas Antetokounmpo, Lakers
- B.J. Johnson, Magic
- Vic Law, Magic
- Antonius Cleveland, Mavericks
- Josh Reaves, Mavericks
- Brian Bowen, Pacers
- Naz Mitrou-Long, Pacers
- Josh Gray, Pelicans
- Jordan Bone, Pistons
- Louis King, Pistons
- Michael Frazier, Rockets
- William Howard, Rockets
- Tariq Owens, Suns
- Moses Brown, Trail Blazers
- Jaylen Hoard, Trail Blazers
Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Beasley has 4 million QO
Few teams would offer 8m or more?
Great list to include the 2 way contracts. It looks like only 2 are missing/unknown.
1. Kevin Hervey (2 way with OKC) – has actually reportedly signed overseas with Lokomotiv Kuban
2. Jonathan Williams (2 way with Washington)
Yeah I have both of those guys as having signed overseas — I assume since they were allowed to get out of their NBA contracts early, they didn’t get QOs.
where did Williams end up??
Galatasaray in Turkey (they announced it in September anyway — I haven’t checked since then to confirm he’s still with them).
What is your source that Sterling Brown didn’t get the QO? First I’m hearing of it and I can’t find confirmation.
Deadline was over 24 hours ago and there were no reports that he did get one, so I think it’s safe to assume he didn’t.