The Trail Blazers opted not to tender forward Jabari Walker a qualifying offer prior to Sunday’s deadline, reports Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report (Twitter link). As a result, Walker will become an unrestricted free agent.
Walker put up solid numbers in a limited role for Portland last season, averaging 5.2 points and 3.5 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per game, with a .515/.389/.690 shooting line, across 60 appearances. However, his playing time dropped off significantly from the previous year, a signal that the Blazers were prioritizing other young players over the 22-year-old.
Meanwhile, the Thunder issued Ajay Mitchell a qualifying offer, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link), who notes that it’s a procedural move for Oklahoma City, since the second-year guard has already agreed to sign a three-year, $9MM contract with the team. The QO will just ensure he’s a restricted free agent when free agency opens — he’ll be able to officially finalize that new deal on July 6.
The following players who finished the 2024/25 season on two-way contracts also received qualifying offers ahead of Sunday’s deadline, per Smith (unless otherwise indicated):
- Branden Carlson, Thunder (link)
- Jesse Edwards, Timberwolves (link)
- Tyson Etienne, Nets (link)
- Trentyn Flowers, Clippers (link)
- Mac McClung, Magic (link)
- Tristen Newton, Timberwolves (link)
- Oscar Tshiebwe, Jazz (link via Tony Jones of The Athletic)
In each of these cases, the player’s qualifying offer is equivalent to another one-year, two-way deal, with a small portion (approximately $85K) guaranteed.
While a rival team could technically sign any of these players to an offer sheet during free agency, we essentially never see that happen with two-way free agents. Most of them end up either accepting their two-way QOs or agreeing to new standard contracts with their current teams.
While it’s possible that news of a qualifying offer slipped through the cracks within the last 24 hours, it appears that RealGM’s official transaction log is up to date with all of the QOs that were issued prior to Sunday’s deadline.
If that’s the case, one notable player who didn’t receive a qualifying offer is Hornets guard Tre Mann. His QO would have been worth about $6.96MM, but if Charlotte didn’t put it on the table, that means he’s on track to be unrestricted when free agency opens later today.
We’ll publish our full recap of 2025’s qualifying offer decisions later this morning.