The qualifying offer picture around the NBA is starting to come into focus, and a few familiar names are landing on very different tracks.
In Golden State, the big decision was to keep center Quinten Post in the fold. Post, 26, has carved out rotation minutes in the Warriors’ frontcourt over his first two NBA seasons, appearing in 109 games and starting 49.
He’s averaged 7.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 16.9 minutes per game, while shooting .443 from the field, .364 from three and .786 at the line. His qualifying offer is projected to come in at $2.65MM, which makes him a restricted free agent.
The Warriors also kept their rights on two players who are no longer on the roster. They issued two-way qualifying offers to both Mannion and Armstrong, preserving their NBA rights even though each continues his career overseas. Mannion hasn’t appeared in the NBA since 2021, while Armstrong wasn’t in the league last season.
Elsewhere, the Knicks chose a different route with Ariel Hukporti. According to Vincent Goodwill of ESPN, New York did not give the big man a qualifying offer, which means he’ll hit the market as an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
That doesn’t rule out a return to the Knicks - Hukporti can still re-sign with the team - but New York will no longer have matching rights if another club makes him an offer. Hukporti averaged 2.2 points and 2.9 rebounds in 54 games in 2025/26.
San Antonio made sure to retain flexibility with its two-way spots. The Spurs issued qualifying offers to Harrison Ingram and David Jones Garcia ahead of Monday’s deadline, turning both into restricted free agents, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac.
Jones Garcia’s QO is essentially another one-year two-way deal, while Ingram’s is a standard one-year minimum-salary contract. Both come with small partial guarantees - about $91K for Jones Garcia and a little over $109K for Ingram.
Oklahoma City also stayed in the qualifying offer game, giving Brooks Barnhizer a two-way QO before his second NBA season, Smith reported. The 2025 second-round pick appeared in 40 games off the bench as a rookie, averaging 1.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 8.7 minutes per contest.
Boston, meanwhile, went the other direction. The Celtics did not extend qualifying offers to Max Shulga or John Tonje, leaving both as unrestricted free agents, Smith tweeted. Both late second-round picks from a year ago spent time on Boston’s standard roster and in two-way slots, but neither saw much action at the NBA level.
In Other News...
NBA Bombshell Just Put An Unthinkable Star In Boston's Orbit
LeBron James decision to tell the Lakers he will play elsewhere next season sent the league into immediate speculation mode, and Boston inevitably got pulled into the conversation. With James headed toward unrestricted free agency, the usual heavyweight suitors are already being discussed, but the Celtics have at least been mentioned as a team that could theoretically enter the mix if they wanted to shake up the entire landscape.
For Boston, the appeal would be obvious even before the bigger legacy questions come into play. The Celtics could put a real contract offer on the table, and the basketball fit would be just as tempting, with James able to ease into a secondary role next to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown while still supplying playmaking, passing and rim pressure. Whether that idea ever moves beyond the realm of possibility is the part worth watching, because the door only opens if Boston decides this is more than a wild summer thought. [Read more 🡒]
Jaylen Browns Father Just Took Celtics Frustration Public
Marselles Brown has been willing to say publicly what Celtics fans have heard swirling around Jaylen Brown all summer: the noise around his son has started to feel bigger than basketball. During an appearance on Sway In The Morning, he defended Jaylen against criticism from ESPN voices Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins, pushing back on the idea that the Celtics star somehow deserves the backlash that followed Bostons playoff exit and the reaction to his comments afterward.
The timing matters because Brown is coming off a career-best season, yet the conversation around him keeps getting dragged into accountability debates and trade chatter. Marselles Brown argued the criticism has crossed a line, turning a basketball argument into something more personal, and it only adds another layer to a Celtics offseason that has already been defined by speculation about how the team views one of its most important players. [Read more 🡒]