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 details on which players did and didn’t receive qualifying offers this summer. Our list is based on various reports and team announcements leading up to the June 29 deadline, along with confirmation from RealGM’s official NBA transactions log.
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. We’ve updated our free agents lists by position and by team to reflect the changes.
Received qualifying offers:
Players on standard contracts:
Note: Qualifying offers marked with an asterisk (*) are based on a projected $154,647,000 salary cap and would increase or decrease if the cap comes in higher or lower than that.
Josh Giddey, Bulls ($11,142,058)
Quentin Grimes, Sixers ($8,741,210)
Davion Mitchell, Heat ($8,741,209)Note: Mitchell reportedly has a two-year, $24MM contract agreement in place with the Heat.
Jonathan Kuminga, Warriors ($7,976,830)
Isaiah Jackson, Pacers ($6,422,432)
Cam Thomas, Nets ($5,993,172)
Santi Aldama, Grizzlies ($5,940,797)
Ajay Mitchell, Thunder ($4,050,000)Note: Mitchell reportedly has a three-year, $9MM contract agreement in place with the Thunder.
Ryan Rollins, Bucks ($2,578,870) *
Justin Edwards, Sixers ($2,248,494) *Note: Edwards reportedly has a three-year contract agreement in place with the Sixers.
Players on two-way contracts:
Note: Qualifying offers for two-way players are one-year, two-way contracts with a guarantee of approximately $85K unless otherwise indicated.
Taran Armstrong, Warriors
Branden Carlson, Thunder
Isaiah Crawford, Kings
N’Faly Dante, Rockets
Jesse Edwards, Timberwolves
Tyson Etienne, Nets
Trentyn Flowers, Clippers
Enrique Freeman, Pacers
Collin Gillespie, Suns
Harrison Ingram, Spurs
Quenton Jackson, PacersNote: Jackson’s qualifying offer is a one-year, minimum-salary contract with a partial guarantee of approximately $102K.
Daniss Jenkins, Pistons
Spencer Jones, Nuggets
Christian Koloko, Lakers
Nico Mannion, WarriorsNote: Mannion hasn’t played in the NBA since 2021, but the Warriors issued him a qualifying offer in order to retain his RFA rights in case he returns to the league.
Mac McClung, Magic
Kevin McCullar, Knicks
Emanuel Miller, Bulls
Riley Minix, Spurs
Tristen Newton, Timberwolves
Dru Smith, Heat
Cam Spencer, Grizzlies
Jacob Toppin, Hawks
Luke Travers, Cavaliers
Oscar Tshiebwe, Jazz
Tristan Vukcevic, Wizards
Keaton Wallace, Hawks
Did not receive qualifying offers:
Players on standard contracts:
Players on two-way contracts:
Trey Alexander, Nuggets
Emoni Bates, Cavaliers
Reece Beekman, Nets
Jalen Bridges, Suns
Keion Brooks, Pelicans
Jamal Cain, Pelicans
Jeff Dowtin, Sixers
Alex Ducas, Thunder
David Duke, Spurs
Kessler Edwards, Mavericks
Adam Flagler, Thunder
PJ Hall, Nuggets
Bones Hyland, Timberwolves
Mason Jones, Kings
Yuki Kawamura, Grizzlies
E.J. Liddell, Bulls
Bryce McGowens, Trail Blazers
Jack McVeigh, Rockets
Justin Minaya, Trail Blazers
Drew Peterson, Celtics
Micah Potter, Jazz
Trevelin Queen, Magic
Isaiah Stevens, Heat
JT Thor, Wizards
Stanley Umude, Bucks
Anton Watson, Knicks