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12 Two-Way Restricted Free Agents Remain Unsigned

July 18th, 2023 at 10:24am CST by Luke Adams

The action on the NBA’s free agent market has slowed since the start of July, but there are still many FAs seeking new deals, including a notable group of under-the-radar players whose situations will need to be resolved in the coming days, weeks, and months.

A total of 12 two-way restricted free agents are still available, as our up-to-date list shows. Those players are as follows:

That group doesn’t include a 13th player, Neemias Queta, who is also a restricted free agent after finishing last season on a two-way deal. Although he remains eligible to sign another two-way contract, Queta was ineligible for a two-way qualifying offer after having played on a two-way with the Kings for consecutive seasons — his QO is a one-year, minimum-salary contract with a small ($75K) partial guarantee.

For the rest of these players, their qualifying offer is simply another one-year, two-way deal, which limits their leverage to negotiate a more lucrative standard contract.

Some two-way RFAs have managed to earn standard deals this offseason. A.J. Green of the Bucks was one. Julian Champagnie of the Spurs was another. Ty Jerome (Warriors) and Jack White (Nuggets) received standard contract offers from the Cavaliers and Thunder, respectively, that their former teams were unwilling to match, so Golden State and Denver simply withdrew their respective qualifying offers, making Jerome and White unrestricted free agents.

Offer sheets for two-way restricted free agents essentially never happen though. And in general, unless a team has earmarked a 15-man roster spot for a two-way free agent, it’s an uphill battle for these players to earn offseason promotions.

As a result, the majority of the dozen restricted free agents listed above will likely end up accepting their qualifying offers and hoping that their play in 2023/24 forces their clubs to find 15-man roster spots for them later in the season.

Still, it’s worth keeping an eye on this group to see if any of them can do better than another two-way — and to see how long some of them might be willing to wait in the hope of earning that opportunity.

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Warriors Notes: Open Roster Spots, Gay, Quinones, Centers, Martin

July 12th, 2023 at 9:14am CST by Luke Adams

Although the Warriors aren’t closing the door on the possibility of filling all 15 slots on their standard roster to open the 2023/24 season, the team seems unlikely to carry more than 14, says Anthony Slater of The Athletic. That means that once the Dario Saric signing is official, Golden State will probably just have one standard roster spot left to fill.

There’s no rush to add a 14th man though, according to Slater, who explains that the club already addressed its top two offseason priorities by adding a steady veteran guard (Cory Joseph) and a frontcourt player who can shoot (Saric). Slater expects the Warriors to exercise patience from here on out rather than looking to sign another player right away.

As Slater observes, there are already a few buyout candidates on rosters around the NBA, and more could emerge if certain star trade candidates get moved and roster shake-ups occur. The Warriors may be reluctant to commit a guaranteed contract to a 14th player without knowing which other veterans will reach free agency.

Slater identifies veteran forward Rudy Gay as one player worth keeping an eye on, since the Warriors have had interest in him in the past. He’s being traded from Atlanta to Oklahoma City, and the Thunder seem unlikely to hang onto him due to his age (37 next month) and a roster crunch in OKC.

Here’s more on the Warriors:

  • Slater hears from team sources that Golden State would also be OK with the idea of making the 14th roster spot available in a training camp competition. If the club puts that spot up for grabs, it might make Lester Quinones more inclined to accept his two-way qualifying offer, recognizing that he’d have an opportunity to earn a promotion to the standard roster before the season begins, Slater writes.
  • While the Warriors don’t appear to be in love with any of the free agent centers currently on the market, they’re certainly not opposed to adding another player at that spot. According to Slater, the team looked into veteran bigs like Mason Plumlee or Alex Len early in free agency before both players re-signed with their respective teams.
  • General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. confirmed on Monday that the team is open to adding another center, either using a standard roster spot or a two-way slot. However, Dunleavy cautioned that it’s hard to find big men who fit the Warriors’ system and stressed that they don’t just want “somebody who’s tall” (Twitter video link via Slater). “We’ve got to be careful with the way we play, the way the league works,” Dunleavy said. “… You’ve gotta be skilled. You’ve gotta have feel. You’ve gotta know how to play.”
  • The Warriors looked into the idea of trading for Kenyon Martin Jr. before Houston sent him to the Clippers, league and team sources tell Slater. Golden State has a trade exception that would have fit Martin without any outgoing salary required, but those negotiations never reached the final stages.
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Wolves’ Garza, Ryan Among Players Receiving Two-Way QOs

June 29th, 2023 at 6:48am CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves forward Luka Garza and wing Matt Ryan are among several players on two-way contracts who received qualifying offers on Wednesday, according to the official transaction log at RealGM.com.

Besides Garza and Ryan, the following two-way players were issued qualifying offers, making them restricted free agents:

The default qualifying offer for a player on a two-way contract is another one-year, two-way deal, with a small partial guarantee.

A player who has four years of experience or who has spent the last two seasons on a two-way contract with the same time becomes eligible for a QO equivalent to a standard, minimum-salary deal. However, none of these seven players fit that bill.

These two-way restricted free agents will have the option of accepting their qualifying offers or trying to negotiate new contracts. They’re all technically eligible to sign offer sheets with new teams, which their current clubs would have the ability to match. However, that outcome has been a rarity for players coming off two-way deals.

While Garza, Ryan, Mobley, Rhoden, Quinones, and Green all finished the 2022/23 season under contract with their respective teams, Mannion has been out of the NBA since 2021 and recently signed with Baskonia in Spain. Having issued him a qualifying offer in each of the last three seasons, Golden State continues to retain Mannion’s RFA rights in the event that he eventually returns stateside.

According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, the Warriors aren’t expected to tender qualifying offers to Anthony Lamb and Ty Jerome (two-way). The team still has some level of interest in re-signing one or both players, but that interest may hinge on how the free agent market plays out, Slater explains.

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Warriors Notes: Poole, Lakers Series, Offseason, Quinones

May 9th, 2023 at 9:19am CST by Luke Adams

After scoring just 11 total points in Games 2 and 3, Warriors guard Jordan Poole had his worst game of the postseason on Monday vs. the Lakers. Playing a season-low 10 minutes, Poole went scoreless on 0-of-4 shooting and committed a pair of turnovers.

As Kerith Burke of NBC Sports Bay Area relays (via Twitter video), Poole was clearly frustrated when reporters approached him after the game and offered only brief responses to their inquiries. He deflected questions about his own play and focused on the fact that the Warriors will get a chance at home on Wednesday to start climbing out of their 3-1 hole.

While Poole isn’t one of Golden State’s superstars and shouldn’t necessarily bear the brunt of the blame for the team’s struggles in the series thus far, his “lack of playoff toughness and lack of interest” in speaking to the media about his performance make it seem like he’s “something less than a full partner in the Warriors’ operation these days,” writes Tim Kawakami of The Athletic. That’s troubling, given that the guard’s four-year, $123MM+ contract extension will go into effect this July.

In explaining his decision to only play Poole for 10 minutes on Monday, head coach Steve Kerr expressed confidence in the 23-year-old’s ability to bounce back later this week.

“It just wasn’t his night,” Kerr said, per Kawakami. “He didn’t have it going. It’s a game where you’re going possession by possession and we had other guys who were playing well. Moses (Moody) came in, did a great job. Donte (DiVincenzo) gave us good minutes. Gary (Payton II) obviously starting the game really gave us a lift. Just we went to other guys. That doesn’t mean Jordan can’t come in and play a big role in Game 5.”

Here’s more on the Dubs:

  • The Warriors have come back from a 3-1 deficit once before in the playoffs with their current core, winning three straight games to steal the Western Conference Finals from the Thunder in 2016. They pointed to that series as one reason why they remain hopeful about their chances against the Lakers, according to Kendra Andrews of ESPN.com. “We made history before,” Thompson said. “The goal is to win one at home. We know we are capable of taking care of home court. It’s about staying present and not looking ahead. It’s fun to reflect on the past and learn from it and take that same competitive energy that brought us back in the past to today.”
  • There’s more at stake for the Warriors in this series than just the possible end of their season, notes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. President of basketball operations Bob Myers is on an expiring deal, Draymond Green holds a player option for 2023/24, and Klay Thompson is eligible for an offseason extension at the same time that the NBA is introducing a Collective Bargaining Agreement that introduces new limitations on the teams with the highest payrolls. In other words, a second-round exit could be the beginning of the end of Golden State’s dynasty, as the team faces an uncertain offseason.
  • Having finished the season on a two-way contract, Warriors guard Lester Quinones has been ineligible to play for the team in the playoffs, but he’s thrilled with how 2022/23 played out, as he tells Joe DiProsperos of NBAGLeague.com. He was named the G League’s Most Improved Player and appeared in his first NBA game for the team he grew up rooting for. “To get (to the NBA) and be on the same team that I grew up watching my whole life, it’s just a blessing,” said Quinones, who will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer.
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NBAGL Announces 2022/23 All-League Awards

April 13th, 2023 at 9:30pm CST by Rory Maher

The NBA G League named the recipients of its All-League, All-Rookie, and All-Defensive teams on Thursday (all Twitter links found here). Many of the honorees are on standard NBA or two-way contracts.

Here’s the full list:

All-NBA G League First Team

All-NBA G League Second Team

All-NBA G League Third Team

NBAGL All-Defensive Team

NBAGL All-Rookie Team

  • Kenneth Lofton
  • Lester Quinones – Santa Cruz Warriors *
    • Note: Quinones placed second in ROY voting.
  • Darius Days
    • Note: Days placed third in ROY voting.
  • Jamaree Bouyea
  • Moussa Diabate

(^ denotes standard NBA contract)

(* denotes two-way contract)

(# Bouyea signed 10-day deals with the Heat and Wizards, but is now an NBA free agent)

Both Dunn and Samanic signed standard contracts with the Jazz, while Harrison signed with the Lakers at the very end of the season after playing with Portland on a 10-day deal. Duke and Lofton recently had their two-way contracts converted into standard deals.

Cooper, Chiozza and Anderson all hold NBA experience as well. Cooper spent 2021/22 — his rookie season — on a two-way deal with the Hawks; Chiozza has played for the Rockets, Nets and Warriors, and recently signed with a Spanish team; Anderson has appeared in 242 NBA games with six teams in as many seasons.

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Warriors Notes: Quinones, Thompson, Wiggins

April 5th, 2023 at 2:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Warriors guard Lester Quinones, who is on a two-way contract with the team, was named the NBA G League’s Most Improved Player for the 2022/23 season, according to an announcement from the league (Twitter link).

Unlike in the NBA, the G League’s Most Improved Player award is given to the player who exhibits the most improvement over the course of the season rather than from one year to the next.

Quinones, who finished the NBAGL regular season with averages of 21.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game, was especially productive down the stretch, putting up 27.7 PPG on .477/.381/.743 shooting in his last six games for the Santa Cruz Warriors. He previously averaged 17.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 2.6 APG during Showcase Cup play in the fall.

Here’s more on the Warriors:

  • Veteran sharpshooter Klay Thompson was a late scratch on Tuesday due to lower back soreness, but head coach Steve Kerr said the decision was precautionary and doesn’t expect the issue to impact Thompson’s availability going forward, tweets Kendra Andrews of ESPN.
  • Speaking to reporters on Tuesday for the first time since leaving the team before the All-Star break, forward Andrew Wiggins declined to discuss the specifics of the personal situation that led to his 22-game absence, but said he expects to be back in action soon, according to Andrews. Based on comments made by Kerr, it sounds like Wiggins may not be available by Friday, but could be back for Golden State’s regular season finale on Sunday. “We’ll have a better idea in the next couple of days,” Kerr said. “There’s no way he’s playing in the next few days, I can tell you that. But I think once we have an assessment over the next couple of days, we’ll have a better idea of when he might be able to play.”
  • The manner in which the Warriors handled Wiggins’ personal absence and his return reflects well on the franchise, writes Tim Kawakami of The Athletic. “This organization, it’s a player-first organization,” guard Gary Payton II said. “They want to make sure we’re mentally and physically ready to come to work and do what we’ve gotta do. Wigs was gone for a period of time for Wigs’ reasons and they didn’t press him or push him to come back and get ready to play. Just what he had to handle and he came back.”
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Grizzlies’ Lofton Named G League Rookie Of The Year

March 31st, 2023 at 11:57am CST by Luke Adams

First-year forward Kenneth Lofton Jr., who is on a two-way contract with the Grizzlies, has been named the G League Rookie of the Year for the 2022/23 season, according to the NBA (Twitter link).

Lofton has appeared in just 19 games and averaged only 5.5 MPG at the NBA level in his first professional season after signing with the Grizzlies as an undrafted free agent out of Louisiana Tech. However, he played a major role for the Memphis Hustle, the team’s G League affiliate.

In 17 regular season games for the Hustle, Lofton averaged a double-double (20.2 PPG, 10.5 RPG) despite logging a modest 28.6 minutes per night. He shot 53.9% from the floor and also chipped in 3.9 assists and 1.2 steals per contest. Lofton’s performance helped the Hustle secure the No. 2 seed in the NBAGL’s Western Conference with a 23-9 record.

Lofton will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer, since his two-way contract only covers the 2022/23 season.

According to the NBA (Twitter link), Warriors two-way guard Lester Quinones and Rockets two-way forward Darius Days finished second and third, respectively, in Rookie of the Year voting.

Quinones averaged 21.8 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 4.8 APG in 31 G League regular season games (32.0 MPG) for the Santa Cruz Warriors, while Days put up 24.4 PPG and 9.7 RPG on .486/.371/.857 shooting in 29 contests (35.6 MPG) for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

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Warriors Promote Anthony Lamb, Sign Lester Quinones To Two-Way Deal

March 17th, 2023 at 3:17pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

MARCH 17: The Warriors have officially converted Lamb’s two-way deal to a standard NBA contract, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link). The club also formally confirmed its two-way contract agreement with Quinones (Twitter link).

MARCH 16: The Warriors are making moves with an eye toward the impending 2023 postseason. First, Golden State is upgrading the contract of current two-way swingman Anthony Lamb, according to Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Lamb is being added onto the team’s 15-man standard roster, which will make him eligible to partake in playoff (and, if necessary, play-in) contests for the club, Charania and Slater note.

With their newly available two-way roster slot, the Warriors will sign guard Lester Quinones, Charania reports (via Twitter).

Quinones went undrafted out of Memphis in 2022, and joined the Warriors’ Santa Cruz NBAGL affiliate at the start of the 2022/23 season. He signed with Golden State on a 10-day deal earlier this month.

Lamb, a 6’6″ small forward, has been active for 50 games with the Warriors, the maximum permitted for two-way players before their contracts need to be converted. Across 20.1 MPG, he has averaging 7.0 PPG on .475/.379/.773 shooting splits. The University of Vermont product is also chipping in 3.4 RPG and 1.7 APG, having emerged as a key bench piece for Golden State.

Upon Lamb’s promotion, the Warriors will have a full 15-man standard roster, so if they want to make two-way player Ty Jerome playoff-eligible in the coming weeks too, they’d have to waive someone in order to make room for him.

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Checking In On Active, Expired 10-Day Contracts

March 12th, 2023 at 12:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Lester Quinones‘ 10-day contract with the Warriors expired after Saturday’s game, opening up a spot on Golden State’s 15-man roster.

Quinones remained with the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G League for most of the 10 days he spent under contract with Golden State. He was recalled to the NBA on Saturday and was technically active for last night’s game vs. Milwaukee, but didn’t play at all and has yet to make his NBA debut.

As we outlined when Quinones first signed his 10-day deal, his addition to the 15-man roster allowed the Warriors to continue using both of their two-way players, Anthony Lamb and Ty Jerome. Lamb has since reached his limit of 50 games on the active roster, while Jerome is now at 47 games and will be ineligible to play his final three unless Golden State fills its 15th roster spot again.

It will be interesting to see how the Warriors manage their two-way contracts and their 15-man roster going forward. Promoting Lamb to the standard roster would make him eligible to play in the rest of the team’s regular season games and in any postseason contests, in addition to freeing up Jerome for three more games. However, it would limit Golden State’s roster flexibility going forward and would force the club to waive a player on a guaranteed contract in order to sign anyone else before the end of the season.

Quinones is one of two players whose 10-day contract expired this week, joining Willie Cauley-Stein of the Rockets. Houston is now carrying just 13 players on standard deals and must add a 14th man (Cauley-Stein again or someone else) by March 23 to meet the NBA’s minimum roster requirements.

Three more players on 10-day contracts will see their deals expire tonight, while two others will expire on Monday night. Here’s the breakdown of the 10-day contracts currently active around the NBA:

Players marked with an asterisk (*) are on their second 10-day deals with their respective teams. That means Dunn and Leonard would have to be signed for the rest of the season if their clubs want to retain them beyond Monday night, since they aren’t permitted to sign three standard 10-day contracts with the same team.

Players marked with a caret (^) are on clubs that don’t currently have full 15-man rosters. The Jazz are actually currently carrying just 13 players and will need to get back up to at least 14 by March 18. So even if they lock up Dunn to a full-season contract, they’ll need to sign one more player before next Saturday.

The Knicks, meanwhile, would be at 13 players on their standard roster if they don’t re-sign Jeffries to a second 10-day deal and would have up to two weeks to add a new 14th man.

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Warriors Sign Lester Quinones To 10-Day Contract

March 2nd, 2023 at 12:50pm CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 2: Quinones’ 10-day deal is now official, the Warriors announced (via Twitter).

MARCH 1: The Warriors intend to promote guard Lester Quinones from their G League affiliate in Santa Cruz to their NBA roster, having agreed to sign him to a 10-day contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The move is being made due to a rule buried deep in the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, as Anthony Slater of The Athletic explains. A team that has an open spot on its 15-man roster can only have its two-way players active for a total of 90 combined games, rather than 100 (50 each).

Golden State’s two-way players have hit that 90-game limit — Anthony Lamb has been active for 47 games and Ty Jerome has been active for 43. By filling the 15th spot on their standard roster, the Warriors will ensure that they can continue to activate Lamb and Jerome for at least a few more games.

As Slater observes, a simpler solution may have been for the Warriors to promote one of those two-way players to a standard contract, but the club wants to maintain some roster flexibility before finalizing any decisions on Lamb or Jerome. There’s an expectation that at least one of them will likely be promoted before the end of the season, but it may come down to which player head coach Steve Kerr believes would be more needed in the playoff rotation.

After going undrafted out of Memphis last summer, Quinones signed a two-way contract with Golden State, but he was waived just before the regular season began in October and has instead spent his first professional season as an affiliate player for the Santa Cruz Warriors.

Quinones averaged 17.4 points on .498/.436/.745 shooting in 18 Showcase Cup games (29.6 MPG) and has put up 20.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG, and 4.9 APG with a .448/.361/.808 shooting line in 21 NBAGL regular season appearances (32.5 MPG) for Santa Cruz.

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