NBA Free Agency 2015 is underway! It's an exciting time, a surprising time and...well, a confusing time.
Here's what you need to know to sort it all out.
NBA Free Agency Hub | Top 10 Free Agents
Glossary of Key Terms
Free agency for the 2014-15 season begins at 12:01 a.m. ET on July 1, 2015. Players may not be officially signed until 12:01 am ET on July 9, 2015.
UFA Unrestricted free agent
RFA Restricted free agent
Unrestricted free agent
An unrestricted free agent (UFA) is free to sign with any team, though some unrestricted free agents have options on their existing contracts that, if exercised, may impact their choices.
Team Option
A team option grants the original team the right to keep a player for another year.
Player Option
A player option grants the player the power to decide whether to stay for another year or become a completely unrestricted free agent.
(In either case, if the option is refused, the player is completely unrestricted, free to sign with any team.)
Early Termination Option
An early termination option gives the player the right to end a signed contract. The option cannot be exercised before the end of the fourth year of an existing contract. If the player declines to exercise the option, he remains with the original team. If the option is exercised, he is free to sign with any team.
Restricted free agent
A restricted free agent can sign an offer sheet with any team, but the player's original team can retain him by matching the terms of that offer. The original team is said to have the "right of first refusal."
Who's Gotten Qualifying Offers?
John Schuhmann, NBA.com
When the season ended, there were 46 free agents set to be restricted free agents, where their teams could match any offer they received.
But in order for a player to be a restricted free agent on Wednesday, his team needed to extend him a qualifying offer by Tuesday. If signed by the player, that qualifying offer is a binding, one-year contract (like with Greg Monroe last year).
If the player signs an offer sheet from another team, his current team has three days to match it. If he doesn't, he can also sign a new contract with his current team.
26 of the 46 potential restricted free agents received qualifying offers. The other 20 did not. Here's a rundown…
Restricted
The following players received qualifying offers and are restricted free agents.
- Pero Antic – Atlanta
- Will Barton – Denver
- Patrick Beverley – Houston
- Jimmy Butler – Chicago
- Nick Calathes – Memphis
- Norris Cole – New Orleans
- Jae Crowder – Boston
- Matthew Dellavedova – Cleveland
- Draymond Green – Golden State
- Tobias Harris – Orlando
- Robbie Hummel – Minnesota
- Joe Ingles – Utah
- Reggie Jackson – Detroit
- Cory Joseph – San Antonio
- Enes Kanter – Oklahoma City
- Brandon Knight – Phoenix
- Ognjen Kuzmic – Golden State
- Kawhi Leonard – San Antonio
- K.J. McDaniels – Houston
- Khris Middleton – Milwaukee
- Kyle O'Quinn – Orlando
- Iman Shumpert – Cleveland
- Kyle Singler – Oklahoma City
- Mirza Teletovic – Brooklyn
- Tristan Thompson – Cleveland
- Jeff Withey – New Orleans
Note 1: Antic has agreed to a contract with Turkish team Fenerbahce, according to his agent. Even though he's left the league, the Hawks can retain the right to match a deal should he ever return.
Note 2: The Raptors also extended a qualifying offer to Nando de Colo, who played with CSKA Moscow last year, so that they can match a deal should he ever return to the league.
Who Didn't Get Offers, And Became Unrestricted?
The following players did not receive qualifying offers and are unrestricted free agents.
- Quincy Acy – New York
- Aron Baynes – San Antonio
- Bismack Biyombo – Charlotte
- Vander Blue – L.A. Lakers
- Ian Clark – Denver
- Chris Copeland – Indiana
- Gigi Datome – Boston
- Joel Freeland – Portland
- Justin Hamilton – Minnesota
- Justin Holiday – Golden State
- Bernard James – Dallas
- Jerome Jordan – Brooklyn
- Arinze Onuaku – Minnesota
- Glenn Robinson III – Philadelphia
- Alexey Shved – New York
- Henry Sims – Philadelphia
- Jeff Taylor – Charlotte
- Travis Wear – New York
- Shayne Whittington – Indiana
- Derrick Williams – Sacramento